고위직 공무원의 임면에 관한 구체적 입법의 필요성 — 미국의 플럼 북 논의를 중심으로 —

With the start of the new president's term in May 2022, fierce arguments are underway regarding the status of political appointees appointed by the former president. When the new president takes office with the term of a political appointee appointed by the former president has not yet expired, the status of the official has been repeatedly controversial. Social conflicts related to this problem continue, with one criticizing it as ‘a stick-in’ and the other as ‘a push-out’. Regarding the appointment and removal power of public officials under the Korean Constitution, in principle, the President has the authority to appoint and remove public officials as prescribed by the Constitution and law (Article 78 of the Constitution). In addition, many laws, including the National Public Officials Act, stipulate the president's appointment and removal power. However, the current legislation does not seem to be sufficient to resolve the conflict, and it is believed that it is time for political and social consensus on the status of political appointees with tenure. Professor Park Kyun-sung's recent theory, which analyzed the history of the Korean civil service legislation, evaluates that the development of the civil service system is mainly a process of applying the rule of law to the civil service system with the direction of establishing a career civil service system. The development of the civil service law in Korea has focused mainly on the establishment of a career civil service system and the application of the rule of law, it is thought that the scope of the law should be expanded to legal regulations for “political appointees” who play a key role in the country's policy-making process.