Park Ji-hyun Severely Criticizes Yoon Government Cabinet as "Seoyuknam Alumni Appointment... Completion of 'Prosecutor Republic'"

5 Former MB Government Officials · 8 People Born in the 1960s

Jihyun Park, Co-Chair of the Emergency Response Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea. / Photo by Asia Economy

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] Park Ji-hyun, co-chair of the Emergency Response Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea, fiercely criticized President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol's secretariat appointments as a "Yoon Seok-yeol alumni association."

At the Emergency Response Committee meeting held at the National Assembly on the morning of the 2nd, Chair Park said, "That cabinet, that secretariat," criticizing, "Regardless of ability or morality, the president's secretariat is continuing the alumni association appointments where close friends are brought in."

Regarding Kim Seong-han, the nominee for Director of the National Security Office, she pointed out, "He is the president-elect's elementary school classmate and served as the 2nd Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade under the MB (Lee Myung-bak) administration. There are concerns whether Kim, known as a hardliner on North Korea, can properly design peace policies for the Korean Peninsula."

About Kim Tae-hyo, the nominee for 1st Deputy Director of the National Security Office, she said, "He served as the Foreign Strategy Planning Officer under the Lee Myung-bak administration and is the controversial figure who wrote a thesis suggesting that Japan's Self-Defense Forces could intervene in the event of an emergency on the Korean Peninsula. He was also the mastermind behind the secretive promotion of the Korea-Japan Military Information Protection Agreement (GSOMIA), which was criticized as a diplomatic fiasco at the time."

Regarding Kang Seung-gyu, a former lawmaker nominated as Senior Secretary for Civil Society, she stated, "Kang Seung-gyu, who is pro-Lee Myung-bak faction and lacks expertise related to civil society, is also identified as a problematic figure."

From the top row, left to right: Kim Seong-han, nominee for Director of the National Security Office; Kim Tae-hyo, nominee for First Deputy Director of the National Security Office; Shin In-ho, nominee for Second Deputy Director of the National Security Office; Kim Yong-hyun, nominee for Director of the Presidential Security Service; Lee Jin-bok, nominee for Senior Secretary for Political Affairs. From the bottom row, left to right: Kang Seung-gyu, nominee for Senior Secretary for Civil Society; Choi Young-beom, nominee for Senior Secretary for Public Relations; Choi Sang-mok, nominee for Senior Secretary for Economic Affairs; Ahn Sang-hoon, nominee for Senior Secretary for Social Affairs; Kang In-seon, nominee for Spokesperson. / Photo by Press Office of the Transition Committee

Chair Park said, "They also plan to abolish the Office of Civil Affairs and the Personnel Office and entrust verification duties to the Ministry of Justice," adding, "It seems a world is coming where the prosecution will be responsible for executive personnel and inspection duties. It feels like the picture of a prosecution republic that the public worried about is being completed."

She continued, "Where are President-elect Yoon and the People Power Party, who used to shout double standards and blatant hypocrisy, heading now?" criticizing, "I worry that they might be thinking of the power entrusted by the people as spoils for prosecution juniors, alumni, and acquaintances."

Emergency Response Committee member Kim Tae-jin also supported the criticism, saying, "I hope the alumni association stays outside the Blue House," adding, "From elementary school classmate Kim Seong-han as National Security Director to high school senior Kim Yong-hyun as Chief of Security, the presidential office staff is filled with Seoyuknam (Seoul National University, 60s, male), just like the cabinet appointments."

Meanwhile, on the 1st, President-elect Yoon appointed Kim Seong-han, a professor at Korea University's Graduate School of International Studies, as Director of the National Security Office; Kim Tae-hyo, a professor of Political Science and Diplomacy at Sungkyunkwan University, as 1st Deputy Director; and Shin In-ho, director of the KAIST Eulji Defense Research Institute, as 2nd Deputy Director. Kim Yong-hyun, former Operations Headquarters Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was appointed Chief of Security; former lawmaker Lee Jin-bok as Senior Secretary for Political Affairs; former lawmaker Kang Seung-gyu as Senior Secretary for Civil Society. Former SBS News Headquarters Director Choi Young-beom was appointed Senior Secretary for Public Relations; former 1st Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance Choi Sang-mok as Senior Secretary for Economic Affairs; and Professor Ahn Sang-hoon of Seoul National University's Department of Social Welfare as Senior Secretary for Social Affairs. Former Chosun Ilbo reporter Kang In-seon was named spokesperson.

Among the 11 director-level and senior secretary-level appointees, five are from the Lee Myung-bak administration, eight were born in the 1960s, and ten are male, making up the majority. The average age is 60.1 years.

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