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Acting President and Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, who is also the Minister of Economy and Finance, is holding a Cabinet meeting at the Government Seoul Office Building on the 4th. Photo by Yonhap News

Acting President and Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, who also serves as Minister of Strategy and Finance, sought the opinions of Cabinet members on April 4 regarding the appointment of Ma Eun-hyuk as a Constitutional Court Justice nominee and entered final deliberations. Although the Democratic Party of Korea applied pressure for Ma's appointment and took the strong measure of completely halting discussions on livelihood and policy issues with the government, Acting President Choi refrained from immediate appointment and urged the opposition party to convene a National Council meeting.

According to the government on April 4, Acting President Choi met with Cabinet members at the Government Seoul Office in the morning to hear their opinions on Ma's appointment. Given that there was significant criticism within the ruling party last December 31 over the lack of prior discussion during the appointments of Constitutional Court nominees Jeong Gye-seon and Jo Han-chang, it appears that this time the Cabinet members’ opinions were gathered through a private meeting.

In his opening remarks at the Cabinet meeting held immediately after the private session, Acting President Choi made no mention of Ma’s nomination but called for the resumption of the National Council. He emphasized, "With the rise of U.S.-originated nationalism shaking the entire world and international affairs in turmoil, the 'power of unity' for the survival and prosperity of the Republic of Korea is more urgent than ever."

He continued, "Above all, the government, the National Assembly, and the private sector must join forces to fully respond to the ongoing U.S.-originated trade war," and explained, "In such a crisis, the place to find breakthroughs for the livelihood of the people and the future of Korea, and to lay the cornerstone for national unity, is the 'National Council' where both ruling and opposition parties and the government come together."

Acting President Choi added, "Fortunately, last week the National Assembly passed the 'Energy Three Acts' to foster advanced industries and the 'K-Chips Act' which raises the tax credit rate for semiconductor company investments," but noted, "There are still pressing national issues such as pension reform to prevent the depletion of the National Pension Service, allowing autonomous work for high-income semiconductor researchers, and tax support for small business owners and SMEs. I earnestly request the grand cooperation of both ruling and opposition parties."

Earlier, on the afternoon of March 28, the ruling party, opposition, and government were scheduled to hold the second National Council meeting at the National Assembly to discuss livelihood and policy issues amid partisan confrontation. However, about 25 minutes before the meeting, Park Chan-dae, the Democratic Party floor leader, notified his absence, citing Acting President Choi’s refusal to appoint Ma as the reason, causing the meeting to fail. Consequently, discussions on pension reform, the Special Semiconductor Act, and the supplementary budget (Chugyeong) have all been suspended.

Regarding this, a government official pointed out, "The opposition party said the acting president is not a dialogue partner, so how can discussions on the supplementary budget or the Special Semiconductor Act proceed?" Since the Constitutional Court ruled that rejecting Ma’s appointment was unconstitutional but did not specify a deadline for the appointment, it is suggested that Acting President Choi may decide after observing discussions between the ruling and opposition parties and the conclusion of the impeachment trial of Prime Minister Han Deok-su.

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