[Summary] President Moon's Cabinet Reshuffle of 3 Ministries... Ruling Party "Welcome" vs. Opposition "Empty Shell Reform"

Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye, Minister of Environment Han Jeong-ae, and Director of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Hwang Ki-chul Appointed

President Moon Jae-in appointed Park Beom-gye, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (left), as the new Minister of Justice and Han Jeong-ae, the chairperson of the Democratic Party's Policy Committee, as the new Minister of Environment on the afternoon of the 30th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] President Moon Jae-in's appointment of three minister-level officials, including Justice Minister Chu Mi-ae, on the 30th drew mixed reactions from the ruling and opposition parties. While the ruling party expressed welcome, the opposition harshly criticized it as an "empty personnel reshuffle."

On the day, President Moon nominated Park Beom-gye, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, as Chu's successor; Han Jeong-ae, a Democratic Party member, as Minister of Environment; and Hwang Ki-chul, former Chief of Naval Operations, as head of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs.

The ruling party emphasized that all of them are qualified candidates with expertise and leadership. Shin Young-dae, spokesperson for the Democratic Party, said in a written briefing, "We welcome the cabinet reshuffle of the three ministries and ask for bipartisan cooperation from the opposition during the confirmation hearings."

He evaluated Park Beom-gye as "the right person to steadfastly push forward the Moon Jae-in administration's prosecution reform and reform of power institutions," and described Han Jeong-ae as "the right person to address pressing environmental issues such as the climate crisis and fine dust reduction, and to lead the Moon administration's carbon neutrality agenda." Regarding Hwang Ki-chul, he said, "He is praised for his sense of duty as a soldier, leadership, and drive."

He added, "COVID-19 is shaking the daily lives of the people. Stable government administration is more important than ever," and "We expect bipartisan cooperation from the opposition during the confirmation hearings so that the candidates can quickly unite their efforts in government administration."

Park Beom-gye, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, who has been nominated as the new Minister of Justice, is expressing his thoughts on being appointed as the Minister of Justice at the National Assembly Members' Office Building on the 30th. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

On the other hand, the opposition showed a cynical response. Kim Ye-ryeong, spokesperson for the People Power Party, said in a statement, "The government says it will appoint all 'politicians' to the three ministries," and criticized, "In short, this is a reward reshuffle given to the government and ruling party that faithfully carried out the regime's orders."

She continued, "The National Assembly, the hall of people's will, has become a course to ministerial posts. Is this why the government and ruling party are criticized as a rubber stamp for the regime and a compliant judiciary?" She harshly criticized, "It is shocking to appoint as Justice Minister someone who once told the judiciary to 'try asking for mercy,' and as Environment Minister someone who confessed to using COVID-19 emergency disaster relief funds for election purposes."

Spokesperson Kim emphasized, "This is an empty personnel reshuffle with no change or expectation," and "I hope the unfortunate precedent of becoming the 27th and 28th minister-level appointments without opposition consent will not be repeated."

Choi Hyung-du, floor spokesperson for the People Power Party, also sharply criticized in a statement, "They say personnel is everything, but this is a continuous disaster." He specifically described Park Beom-gye as "a ruling party judiciary committee member who bullied the head of the court administration office who appeared before the National Assembly by saying 'try asking for mercy.'"

Choi said, "If the president truly apologized, what was needed was an appointment that would 'rethink justice,' not further destruction of the rule of law. The candidate should have been someone who would restore the rule of law," and criticized, "However, nominating a candidate who has selectively defined justice and divided people as Justice Minister is an attempt to appoint a 'lawless ministry' minister again."

Finally, he sarcastically said, "Isn't it enough that Cho Kuk and Chu Mi-ae divided Korea and split public opinion? A 'pro-Moon Blue House head of the Corruption Investigation Office' and a 'pro-Moon core Justice Minister.' Is this the so-called 'Prosecution Reform Season 2' that they shout about so much?"

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