Geum Tae-seop "President Yoon said he would appoint ministers in their 30s, so what happened?"

CBS 'Park Jae-hong's Hanpanseungbu' Interview
"Citizens Criticize, 'Why Only Use People from MB Era?'"

Former lawmaker Geum Tae-seop commented on the second cabinet reshuffle of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, saying, "(People) are criticizing a lot, asking 'Why is the reshuffle only using people from the MB era, who are old, conservative, and lack flexibility?'"

On the 14th, Geum appeared on CBS Radio's "Park Jae-hong's One-on-One Match" and said, "Even those with conservative leanings and those who have continuously supported the People Power Party criticize President Yoon the most for this," adding, "'You said you would appoint ministers in their 30s, so what happened?' and 'Are there really no such people?'"

Former lawmaker Geum Tae-seop. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Geum also criticized the People Power Party's decision to field a candidate in the upcoming by-election for the mayor of Gangseo District in Seoul this October. He said, "Having been in politics for over 10 years, I have never seen a case where the person who caused the by-election is pardoned and then runs as a candidate again," adding, "I don't think this exists even in foreign countries."

This Gangseo District mayoral by-election is being held because Kim Tae-woo, a former mayor of Gangseo District from the People Power Party, was convicted by the Supreme Court for leaking official secrets. Due to the confirmed guilty verdict, Kim lost his mayoral position, but he regained eligibility to run in the by-election through a special pardon granted on Liberation Day last month. Kim has declared his intention to run again in this by-election, and a primary election to select the final candidate is currently underway.

Regarding this by-election, Geum also criticized the Democratic Party of Korea. He said, "I thought the opposition party would at least properly field a candidate, but they are nominating a former police officer because the other side (People Power Party) put forward a former prosecutor," adding, "It is absolutely absurd to have a confrontation between the prosecution and the police here."

He continued, "The People Power Party only talks about absurd issues like where the government places statues, and the opposition party cannot say a word and fails to fulfill its role," pointing out, "Internally, no lawmaker dares to say anything different about this, creating an atmosphere where no alternative voices are heard."

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