Presidential Priority and Political Appointment: Ordered Logit Regression Analysis of the Patronage and Merit of Ministers and Vice Ministers

This study aims to analyze the influence of policy priorities on presidential political appointments. We studied 688 ministers and vice ministers appointed from the Kim Young-sam to Lee Myung-bak administrations (1993-2012) and measured the levels of their patronage and merit in ordered variables. We then analyzed the influence of presidential policy priorities on their patronage and merit in an ordered logit regression model, while controlling the variables that influence presidential political appointments, such as institutions, presidential resources, political situation, and individual differences in personnel style. We found that presidents were likely to emphasize merit and consider patronage on a limited level when appointing ministers to ministries that implemented high-priority policies. However, when appointing vice ministers, presidents ignored patronage and heavily emphasized merit. These distinctions-regarding how merit and patronage influence presidential appointment-stem from the differentiated statuses and roles of ministers and vice ministers. This study will increase our understanding of presidential political appointments by empirically demonstrating that political appointments for high-ranking posts within administrations are influenced by presidential policy priorities