Minister Park Youngsun's Seoul Mayoral By-Election Prospects Accelerate Blue House Cabinet Reshuffle

Attention Turns to Choo Mi-ae's Potential Seoul Mayoral Bid
Prime Minister Chung and Blue House Personnel Chief Reportedly Discuss Solution to Justice Minister?Prosecutor General Conflict
Blue House Denies: "That Is Not True"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jungmin] As the Seoul mayoral by-election, scheduled for April 7 next year, draws closer, the pace of the Blue House's cabinet reshuffle is also accelerating. Although it was previously reported that the Blue House would announce the reshuffle in two stages-at the end of this year and the beginning of next year-there is speculation that the timeline could be moved up. Even within the Blue House, the possibility of a reshuffle is not being denied.

Previously, whenever interest in a cabinet reshuffle intensified, the Blue House dismissed the speculation by saying, "Is it possible for there to be personnel changes that even Kim Oesook, the Senior Presidential Secretary for Personnel Affairs, does not know about?" This was a rhetorical question suggesting that a reshuffle unknown to the personnel department was impossible. However, the atmosphere at the Blue House has recently shifted.

Now, with less than five months remaining until the Seoul mayoral by-election, it is being suggested that the election could become a factor influencing personnel changes. Although Park Youngsun, Minister of SMEs and Startups, has not officially declared her candidacy, there is ongoing speculation that she is highly likely to run for Seoul mayor.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

This presents an opportunity to offset the bitter memory of losing to independent candidate Park Wonsoon in the "unified opposition primary" during the 2011 Seoul mayoral by-election. Next year's April by-election is considered to have a political landscape that is relatively favorable to female candidates, making Minister Park the top contender within the ruling party for the Seoul mayoral candidacy.

Attention is also focused on the future of Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae. Regardless of her own intentions, Minister Choo is being discussed as a potential candidate for Seoul mayor. While she is leading the charge on "prosecution reform" and her favorability is rising among pro-Moon Jaein supporters, strong opposition from the conservative base remains a burden. The ongoing conflict with Prosecutor General Yoon Seokyeol is also said to be increasing fatigue among centrist voters.

There is also speculation that if Minister Choo steps down from her post before the issue of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) is resolved, it could be interpreted as a signal of the Moon Jaein administration retreating from prosecution reform. Some analysts believe that Minister Choo is considering running directly in the 2022 presidential election rather than next year's Seoul mayoral by-election, which is another point to watch.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The prevailing view is that at least one of Minister Park or Minister Choo will be included in the upcoming Blue House cabinet reshuffle.

In this context, there were reports that Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun recently summoned Kim Oesook, the Senior Presidential Secretary for Personnel Affairs, to discuss the conflict between Minister Choo and Prosecutor General Yoon. Earlier, at a press conference on November 10, Prime Minister Chung stated, "The cabinet reshuffle will be carried out in two small stages," and added, "The timing could be earlier than the end of the year or the beginning of next year."

Kang Minseok, the Blue House spokesperson, denied the reports that Prime Minister Chung and Secretary Kim met to discuss solutions to the conflict between Minister Choo and Prosecutor General Yoon, stating, "That is not true." Despite the Blue House's denial, speculation continues to grow because signals indicating an imminent cabinet reshuffle are being detected in various places. The announcement of the Blue House reshuffle itself has now become a variable that could influence the landscape of the Seoul mayoral by-election.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.