Lin Yang-kang "worked his way up from the bottom." He started out as a civil servant in the Nantou County government, and proceeded on to a series of increasingly higher offices, including mayor of Taipei, provincial governor of Taiwan, minister of the interior, and vice premier of the Executive Yuan. What stands out most are his concrete accomplishments and his charisma.
林洋港打從基層做起，廿五歲就開始在公務機關做事，從南投縣政府的課員、課長、秘書，而雲林縣中國國民黨部主任委員、南投縣縣長，一路幹下來，到台灣省政府建設廳長、台北市長、台灣省主席、內政部長、行政院副院長等職，被認為是「當今從政資歷最完整的一位政府首長」。