SUWON — Ha Jong-mok, former director-general of the Prevention Policy Bureau at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, began official duties on the 28th as the 38th first vice governor of Gyeonggi Province, where he will help lead the ninth elected provincial administration.
Ha skipped a formal inauguration ceremony and instead opened his first day with a tea meeting with the province's bureau and division heads to discuss key issues. The approach reflected a focus on quickly grasping provincial policy matters and communicating with senior officials rather than holding a ceremonial event.
Ha also spoke about his earlier ties to Gyeonggi Province. He served as head of the province's agricultural policy division and its education cooperation division from 2008 to 2010, gaining experience in provincial administration. His appointment marks a return to Gyeonggi Province after 16 years.
"I have experience working as director-general of the Local Finance Bureau at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety," Ha said. "I will work together with the bureau and division heads so that we can wisely overcome Gyeonggi Province's fiscal crisis." In his first remarks in office, he identified local finance as a core task.
Ha entered public service in 1999 through the 42nd civil service examination and went on to hold posts at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety including head of the task force for next-generation local finance and revenue informatization, director-general of the Local Finance Bureau and director-general of the Prevention Policy Bureau. He is regarded as a finance specialist who has built hands-on experience across local taxation, fiscal management and public administration and safety more broadly.
He also has extensive experience in local government. As head of the planning and coordination office of South Gyeongsang Province and as first vice mayor of Changwon, he dealt directly with the organizational management of local governments and regional issues. That background is behind assessments that he has a strong understanding of regional economies and administration on the ground.
Gyeonggi Province is currently pursuing tax reform and stronger fiscal decentralization as key tasks to overcome its budget shortfall. Improving the structure of national and local taxes and expanding independent revenue sources are among the main issues facing the ninth elected provincial administration as it seeks to strengthen its fiscal footing.
Attention is therefore focused on the role of Ha, who has experience in both fiscal and administrative affairs at the interior ministry and in local governments. He is expected in particular to draw on that experience to strengthen cooperation between the central and local governments and to craft responses suited to the province's fiscal conditions.
Beginning with his talks with bureau and division heads, Ha plans to review provincial policy issues and support the implementation of the ninth elected administration's major policies. How he translates the tasks of responding to the fiscal crisis and strengthening local decentralization into concrete measures is drawing attention going forward.
