Park Kwang-on "For the first time, 'public anger' rather than 'expectation' expressed simultaneously with cabinet reshuffle"

"Shin Won-sik, the figure who evaluated '2016 Candlelight Revolution = Treason, December 12 Military Coup = Saving the Country'"
"Yoo In-chon, the figure suspected of managing the cultural and artistic blacklist"
"Talent pool must be broad"

Park Kwang-on, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized the second cabinet reshuffle on the 14th, which replaced the ministers of the Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, saying, "It is the first time that public anger, rather than interest and expectation, has been expressed simultaneously with a cabinet reshuffle."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

At the policy coordination meeting held at the National Assembly that day, Floor Leader Park evaluated it as "a regressive cabinet reshuffle that ignores the will of the people."

He said, "What the people demanded was a cabinet reshuffle for government reform, taking responsibility for external pressure in the late Sergeant Chae Sang-byeong case and the disruption of the Jamboree," adding, "If this personnel appointment is not intended to drag the Republic of Korea back to a dark past, it is right to withdraw this appointment."

Regarding Shin Won-sik, the nominee for Minister of National Defense, Floor Leader Park pointed out, "He will undermine the political neutrality of our military and ultimately weaken military strength." He said, "The nominee is a biased figure who attended far-right rallies and made extreme claims. He called the 2016 Candlelight Revolution a 'treason' and did not hesitate to make extreme remarks about President Moon Jae-in that are inconceivable with normal thinking. In particular, he criticized the 12.12 military coup as 'saving the country' and the 5.16 military coup as a 'revolution,' denying facts that have already been historically evaluated and constitutionally judged, which is a dangerous historical view."

He then condemned, "There is great public anger, questioning whether this is a revival of the Chun Doo-hwan faction and the Hanahoe."

Regarding Yoo In-chon, the nominee for Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, he said, "He is suspected of pressuring the resignation of heads of public institutions who did not suit the tastes of the MB (former President Lee Myung-bak) administration and managing a blacklist in the cultural and artistic community," adding, "Suppression and uniformity of cultural diversity destroy the hope of the Republic of Korea, which dreams of a future as a cultural powerhouse."

Floor Leader Park said, "We need to broaden the pool of talent," pointing out, "At least 13 ministers and vice ministers out of 18 ministries are personnel from the Lee Myung-bak administration." He continued, "This is why there is self-deprecating criticism saying 'MB Government Season 2, Lee Myung-bak again,'" emphasizing, "Over the past 15 years, our history has progressed, democracy has developed, and public awareness has risen. I hope the Yoon Suk-yeol administration’s governance will also respond to the changes of the times and the heightened level of public awareness."

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