People Power Party Holds Party Meeting, Confirms Opposition to 3 Ministerial Candidates
Already Appointed 29 Minister-Level Candidates Without Opposition Consent
Attention on Whether They Will Force Approval Again After Confirming By-Election Public Sentiment
[Asia Economy reporters Naju-seok and Park Jun-yi] Attention is focused on whether the so-called ‘30+α’ case, where ministerial-level appointments are forced without opposition party consent despite the People Power Party's opposition, will become a reality. On the 6th, the People Power Party held an emergency party meeting and demanded the withdrawal of the nominations of three candidates among five: Im Hye-sook for the Ministry of Science and ICT, Park Jun-young for the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, and Noh Hyung-wook for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Kang Min-guk, the floor spokesperson for the People Power Party, warned, "We will work across parties with the People’s Party and the Justice Party to resist the government’s unilateral actions."
Park Sung-joong, the opposition party secretary of the Science, Technology, Broadcasting and Communications Committee from the People Power Party, said regarding candidate Im, "The personnel hearing process concluded that she is unqualified," and added, "We demand the Blue House immediately withdraw the nomination, and the candidate should voluntarily resign as the last duty to the people." Park criticized not only the candidate’s qualifications but also issues such as overseas trips, violations of research ethics, and political bias.
The People Power Party pointed out that candidate Park’s spouse violated customs laws by importing thousands of luxury ceramics, and candidate Noh’s issues include false address registration, real estate speculation with official housing, and lack of expertise. After the party meeting, the People Power Party confirmed its stance opposing the appointments by pressuring the president to withdraw the nominations or the candidates to voluntarily resign for these three nominees.
With the opposition party declaring its opposition as party policy, the government and ruling party must decide whether to proceed with the appointments without seeking opposition consent. Since 29 ministerial-level appointments have already been forced without opposition approval, the 30th to 32nd cases of bypassing the opposition party could become a reality.
Given that the reshuffle was conducted as a reform measure following last month’s by-elections, some analyses suggest that it will not be easy for the government and ruling party to unilaterally push through the appointments despite strong opposition from the opposition party. A key figure in the People Power Party previously pointed out, "In terms of severity, it goes in the order of candidate Im, candidate Park, and candidate Noh." Because of this, there is also a possibility of partial withdrawal of nominations.
Meanwhile, an uncomfortable atmosphere regarding the personnel hearings is also sensed within the ruling party. Park Joo-min, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, appeared on CBS Radio’s ‘Kim Hyun-jung’s News Show’ on the same day and said about the three candidates facing demands for withdrawal, "Even from my perspective, it is somewhat frustrating."
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