Yoon on Appointment of Park Soon-ae and Kim Seung-hee: "Will Wait for a Considerable Time"

Low Likelihood of Forced Appointment for Two Candidates... Yoon "Hypothetical, Difficult to Answer"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] President Yoon Suk-yeol is increasingly troubled over whether to appoint Park Soon-ae, the nominee for Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, and Kim Seung-hee, the nominee for Minister of Health and Welfare. Although the National Assembly's negotiations for the second half organization are delayed, postponing the confirmation hearings, the president cannot leave key ministerial posts that lead national policy tasks indefinitely vacant. However, if the appointments are pushed through again without confirmation hearings, public opinion and conflicts between ruling and opposition parties are expected to intensify sharply.

On the 14th, President Yoon, while heading to the Yongsan Presidential Office building, responded to reporters' question on whether he would push forward with the appointments despite the lack of confirmation hearings for the two nominees, saying, "It is difficult to answer hypothetically, but for now, I am trying to wait for quite some time."

Regarding the appointment of Kim Chang-gi as Commissioner of the National Tax Service without a confirmation hearing the previous day, he explained, "We could not wait indefinitely," adding, "Other cabinet members are calmly waiting until the National Assembly is normalized and the organization is formed, but we could not leave tax administration unattended, so the appointment was unavoidable." When asked if there would be a post-appointment hearing or verification process after the organization is formed, he briefly replied, "Let's see after the organization is formed."

The presidential office also views the possibility of pushing forward with the appointments of the remaining two nominees as low, unlike with Commissioner Kim. Since controversy over the 'prosecutor-centered personnel' is still ongoing, forcing the appointments again could increase political burdens.

However, there is also the option of pushing forward with only Kim's appointment. Although Kim faces controversies including allegations of real estate gap investment, 'mom's chance' allegations regarding her eldest daughter's employment, and misuse of political funds, President Yoon has expressed the position that "it is necessary to verify whether the allegations are facts." This means that if no clear illegal acts by Kim are confirmed, the appointment could be pushed through. Accordingly, the presidential office appears to be monitoring all variables, including the possibility of a resubmission request after the 20th and negotiations over the National Assembly's organization between ruling and opposition parties.

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