Personnel affairs dragging down Moon government
Personnel affairs have become a major obstacle to the Moon Jae-in government as it faces problems in appointing ministers and other top policymakers.
Not only the opposition but also the ruling party are demanding Cheong Wa Dae overhaul its personnel screening system.
A slew of failures to appoint desired picks for each post are derailing the President’s state management and reform plans, coupled with the opposition’s disapproval of top justice nominees for political reasons.
On Wednesday, the National Assembly concluded the SMEs and startups minister nominee Park Seong-jin was unfit for the post because of his controversial religious and historical views along with ethical lapses.
What was notable was that the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) also rejected the nomination, a rare move by a ruling party which usually supports government decisions.
It would have been possible for Moon to push ahead with appointing Park because an Assembly endorsement is not required for this ministerial position. But he may not choose to do so because it could aggravate the political situation with a stronger backlash from the opposition bloc.
Park’s appointment could spur opposition parties to vote down a motion to confirm Supreme Court Chief Justice nominee Kim Meong-su, who they claim is politically biased and is likely to swing the judiciary to the left.
Unlike Park, Assembly approval is a must for Kim’s appointment, and after the confirmation hearing Tuesday and Wednesday, the opposition parties expressed negative views on the nominee.
The opposition already struck down the confirmation of Kim Yi-su, the nominee for Constitutional Court president, Monday, out of the intention to show their presence rather than due to Kim’s faults.
In the Assembly where the rul- ing DPK is not a majority, the Moon administration needs cooperation from the opposition to pass bills on the budget and reform measures, so this situation could make the President hesitant to appoint Park because of protests from the opposition parties.
Some point out Cheong Wa Dae’s personnel system is not working well because besides Park several ranking official nominees had already withdrawn for various causes. They include Justice Minister nominee Ahn Kyong-whan, Labor Minister nominee Cho Dae-yop, Constitutional Court Justice nominee Lee You-jung, and Science, Technology and Innovation Office head Park Ky-young.
Calls are also growing, even from DPK members, to overhaul the personnel screening system and that those in charge of the matter should take responsibility.
The criticism is especially directed toward senior presidential secretary for personnel affairs Cho Hyun-ock, who is in charge of picking nominees, and senior secretary for civil affairs Cho Kuk, who is in charge of screening them.
Critics say the secretaries could have learned about the alleged problems about the former and incumbent nominees in question, such as Park’s controversial historical views and Lee’s dubious stock investments, if they had made proper reference checks.
So the opposition is demanding the resignation of the two secretaries.
“President Moon needs to hold them accountable and apologize for the overall personnel crisis,” said Chung Woo-taik, floor leader of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party.
But Cheong Wa Dae officials say Moon is not considering any reprimand for the secretaries. Instead, in a meeting earlier this month, he urged his staff to improve the personnel management system, such as by setting up an advisory body under Cho’s office and establishing detailed principles on personnel selection and screening.