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The newly appointed statistics chief said he will stick to data and confront political pressure.
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| Kang Shin-wook |
His answer came when he was asked how he will cope with facing potential political pressure over statistics unfavorable to the current administration.
He was appointed Sunday following the sudden dismissal of his predecessor Hwang Soo-kyeong, which drew suspicion that statistics showing the income of low income households have fallen further, led to her dismissal.
Based on the quarterly report on income released by the statistics office, the opposition parties and the local media criticized that the income-led growth strategy of the administration, which steeply raised the minimum wage, has ended up in failure.
Some experts, however, have pointed out that the statistics office under Hwang failed to fully explain that the changes in sampling this year may have made the income data look worse than it actually is.
The new statistics chief said he doesn't have plans to change the survey as of yet.
"We should be cautious in making such a decision," he said. While serving as a researcher at the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, he submitted a report to Cheong Wa Dae pointing out that the income statistics had a problem in its sampling method.
