[One Month of Transition Team] Yoon's Personnel Keywords Are 'Seoul National University' and 'Ability'... 'Cooperation' Is Not Seen

One Month After the Transition Committee Launch
Cabinet Appointments Finalized... Narrow Talent Pool Confirmed
No One Familiar with the Democratic Party, the Cooperation Partner
Full-Scale Conflict Expected After New Government Launch, Including 검수완박 (Prosecutorial Reform) Disputes

The personnel appointments of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, which has completed its cabinet selection, can be summarized with the keywords 'Seoul National University and merit-based.' However, as the new government prepares to launch, there is an assessment that there is a lack of figures who can lead cooperation with the Democratic Party of Korea, which will become the major opposition party, starting with confirmation hearings and future legislation.

According to the National Assembly on the 15th, the ruling and opposition parties are already stumbling over agreeing on the schedule for the confirmation hearing of Prime Minister nominee Han Duck-soo. The schedule agreement is sluggish as Han's side has shown a passive attitude toward submitting materials regarding his time at Kim & Chang law firm, which the Democratic Party requested. Although there was speculation that Han, who served as prime minister during the Roh Moo-hyun administration, would help with cooperation with the Democratic Party, government circles evaluate that Han is, in fact, closer to the Lee Myung-bak (MB) faction.

The keyword of the Yoon administration being 'male graduates of Seoul National University' is also becoming an obstacle to cooperation with the Democratic Party. Among the 18 ministerial nominees, including Prime Minister nominee Han Duck-soo, who graduated from Seoul National University's Department of Economics, nine are Seoul National University alumni, accounting for half. Among them, candidates Won Hee-ryong for Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport; Park Jin for Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Kwon Young-se for Ministry of Unification; Han Dong-hoon for Ministry of Justice; and Lee Sang-min for Ministry of the Interior and Safety are all alumni of Seoul National University's Law School and are seniors or juniors of President-elect Yoon. Kang Byung-won, a Democratic Party lawmaker who serves as the secretary of the Prime Minister confirmation hearing preparation committee, said in a phone interview, "This is a personnel appointment that favors close aides and acquaintances," and criticized, "In a global trend where cabinets are gender-balanced, I want to ask if this is a reasonable choice."

The new government is expected to engage in full-scale confrontations with the Democratic Party in various areas, starting with the complete removal of prosecutorial investigation rights (검수완박, Geomsu Wanbak). The Presidential Transition Committee has expressed the position that "Geomsu Wanbak must be stopped immediately," but the Democratic Party plans to propose a bill that completely abolishes prosecutorial investigation rights on the same day. Holding a majority with 172 seats, the Democratic Party has overwhelming power to pass bills unilaterally, but there is also a lack of 'strategists' within the party to negotiate with the ruling party.

Initially, there were expectations that a figure who could maintain relations with the Democratic Party, to the extent that Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum might be retained, but in reality, the cabinet was filled with 'Yoon's men.' In particular, Han Dong-hoon, the nominee for Minister of Justice, emphasizes "blocking the passage of the Geomsu Wanbak bill at all costs," so it seems that confrontation will only intensify rather than cooperation. Considering that Han was demoted after former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae took office, the Democratic Party is fiercely opposing him, even suggesting the possibility of 'political retaliation.'

Candidate Kwon, a four-term veteran lawmaker, is regarded as 'gentlemanly,' but questions remain regarding communication. A People Power Party official said, "He is rumored to be a gentle figure, but the image of being a former prosecutor remains, and his style is inherently non-political, so I am not sure if he can communicate well." Candidate Won is known as a seasoned politician with good communication skills, but there is a problem that the Democratic Party holds negative feelings toward him because he was at the forefront of criticizing Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung during the presidential election.

Ultimately, the only remaining path for cooperation is direct action by President-elect Yoon. Um Kyung-young, director of the Sidaejeongsin Research Institute, explained, "Looking at the cabinet appointments, there is no sign of willingness to cooperate," and added, "The most effective way to move toward cooperation would be for the president-elect to meet Democratic Party figures directly and ask for their help."

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