Yoon Stuck Amid Parliamentary Deadlock... Will He Push Through Minister and Joint Chiefs Chair Appointments?

Candidates Park Sun-ae, Kim Seung-hee, and Kim Seung-gyeom's confirmation hearing deadline passed
Amid 'hearing passing' and 'allegation department store' controversies, appointment push unlikely
Yoon: "We will allow ample time for resubmission, but the Joint Chiefs chair cannot wait long"

President Yoon Suk-yeol is answering questions from reporters as he arrives at the Yongsan Presidential Office Building in Seoul on the 21st. Photo by Jeong@yna.co.kr [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Yoonjin Kim] The legal hearing deadlines for Park Soon-ae, nominee for Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, Kim Seung-hee, nominee for Minister of Health and Welfare, and Kim Seung-gyeom, nominee for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have passed. Amid difficulties in organizing the National Assembly, attention is focused on how President Yoon Suk-yeol will decide the fate of the nominees.

As the National Assembly remains in a deadlock due to confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties, the confirmation hearings for the ministerial nominees appointed just days before the first half of the National Assembly's term ended have already exceeded the deadline. The Confirmation Hearing Act stipulates that the National Assembly must complete the review or hearing of the appointment consent proposal within 20 days of its submission. Accordingly, the hearing deadline for nominee Park Soon-ae was on the 18th, and for nominees Kim Seung-hee and Kim Seung-gyeom was on the 19th, but considering that these dates fell on weekends, the deadline was extended to the next working day, the 20th.

According to the Confirmation Hearing Act, the president may request the National Assembly to resend the confirmation hearing report within 10 days starting from the day after the hearing deadline, which was the 21st. If the National Assembly fails to submit the report within the deadline, the president may directly appoint the nominees. Previously, President Yoon requested the National Assembly to resend the confirmation hearing report for nominee Kim Chang-ki for Commissioner of the National Tax Service by the 10th and proceeded with the appointment on the 13th.

However, there is considerable burden in appointing ministerial nominees consecutively without confirmation hearings. Regarding the appointment of Commissioner Kim, President Yoon explained, "I had no choice but to make the appointment because tax administration could not be left unattended," but the opposition criticized it as 'bypassing the hearing.' The Democratic Party criticized the appointment of the National Tax Service Commissioner, saying, "Ignoring the authority of the National Assembly is ignoring the people."

Several allegations have surfaced concerning nominees Park Soon-ae and Kim Seung-hee. Park Soon-ae faces allegations of drunk driving and duplicate publication of papers, while Kim Seung-hee is accused of 'gap investment,' misuse of political funds, and conflicts of interest.

The opposition is emphasizing that the two nominees are unqualified and is pressuring the government and ruling party. On the 16th, the Democratic Party launched a task force (TF) for personnel verification of the two nominees and announced it would conduct its own personnel review. Floor leader Park Hong-geun stated the reason for launching the TF, saying, "There is a strong sense of questioning whether confirmation hearings are even necessary for these two. What President Yoon should do is not wait for the National Assembly's organization and hearings but find successors and present qualified candidates to the National Assembly," expressing strong opposition to the appointment of the two nominees.

Relatively, it is expected that the appointment of nominee Kim Seung-gyeom for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is more likely to be pushed through without a confirmation hearing. Since the launch of the Yoon administration, North Korea's military provocations have continued, and there is an urgent need to reorganize the military command system. Given that current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Won In-chul commanded the Joint Chiefs during the controversial 'West Sea civil servant killing incident,' it is judged that the new government hopes for a swift personnel change.

President Yoon, seemingly aware of the negative public opinion regarding forced appointments, announced that he would postpone the expected request on the 21st for the resubmission of the confirmation hearing report. On the morning of the 21st at the presidential office in Yongsan, Seoul, President Yoon said, "(The resubmission of the confirmation hearing report) will be done before attending the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) summit, allowing ample time," indicating that he would review the appointment after monitoring the National Assembly situation. President Yoon will depart for Madrid, Spain, to attend the NATO summit scheduled for the 29th to 30th.

However, President Yoon mentioned, "In the case of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, it is difficult to wait long. Anyway, I will wait a bit longer," leading to predictions that nominee Kim Seung-gyeom may be appointed before departure.

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