The Fate of the Three Minister Nominees Back in the Hands of the National Assembly

[경향신문]

On May 11, President Moon Jae-in asked the National Assembly to send the confirmation hearing reports on three minister nominees-- Lim Hye-sook for the minister of science and ICT; Park Jun-young for the minister of oceans and fisheries; and Noh Hyeong-ouk for the minister of land, infrastructure and transport--by May 14, despite that the opposition party has been asking the president to withdraw the nominations. President Moon tossed the ball back to the National Assembly after giving the lawmakers four more days. This suggests that the president is trying to push ahead with the appointments of the three nominees. The opposition party is planning to handle the approval of the prime minister nominee Kim Boo-kyum along with the fate of the three ministerial candidates, so a confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties seems inevitable.

The president made another request for the confirmation hearing reports this day because lawmakers failed to approve the reports by May 10, the deadline for the confirmation hearing proceedings. According to the Personnel Hearing Act, if the National Assembly fails to meet the deadline, the president can make another request for the confirmation hearing report after designating a period within ten days. If the National Assembly fails to submit a report by this date, the president can appoint the nominee.

Most of the people inside and outside Cheongwadae think President Moon’s latest request was an expression of his determination to go ahead with the appointments of the three nominees. In the special address marking four years in office and the following press conference on May 10, President Moon mentioned the heated debate over the qualifications of the three ministerial candidates and refuted, “I don’t think we failed in verifying the candidates just because the opposition party opposed.” For the president, who is entering the final year of his term, the failure to appoint a ministerial candidate he nominated could give the opposition party a chance to take the initiative in future state administration. So the president may have decided to put up with the criticism and take on the challenge head on. President Moon gave the lawmakers just four days to submit the report, which suggests that he did not want to drag this issue and wanted to conclude the matter by the end of the week. A Cheongwadae official said, “Although he gave them more time, I think the president has already made up his mind.”

But since the president witnessed how the public turned away with the defeat in the April 7 by-elections, experts argue that taking all three nominees with him could add some pressure.

It hasn’t been long since Song Young-gil stepped up as leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and in this situation, if the ruling party negotiates with the opposition and decides to drop some of the nominees, it will also be difficult for the president to appoint them as he had planned. A senior Cheongwadae official said, “There is also the problem of approving the prime minister nominee. The opposition party is also linking this issue with the distribution of positions in the parliamentary standing committees.” However, he left room for more possibilities and said, “We need to take time and keep an eye on the discussions.”

If President Moon once again goes ahead and appoints the three nominees without an agreement between the ruling and opposition parties this time, the number of ministerial-level figures appointed by the incumbent government without the consent of the opposition will increase to 32.

Yun Hee-suk, spokesperson for the People Power Party released a comment and criticized, “He declared ‘my way,’ that he would continue going through the remaining year with his eyes and ears closed.” Yun further said, “Even ruling party lawmakers are asking him to withdraw the nominations. Why is he insisting on going ahead with the appointments?” Koh Yong-jin, senior spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Korea said over the phone, “Since the president, who has the authority to appoint his cabinet members, asked the National Assembly to adopt the confirmation hearing reports again, the ruling party will negotiate with the opposition parties and try to persuade them.”