Ahn Cheol-soo's Official Schedule Canceled... Yoon's Side "Expecting Full Responsibility Until the End"

0 Ahn Cheol-soo Faction Members in 1st and 2nd Cabinet Selections
Joint Government Rift Expected... Ahn Cancels Schedule
Yoon's Side: "There Is Still a Long Time of 5 Years Ahead"

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, Transition Committee Chairman Ahn Cheol-soo, People Power Party Leader Lee Jun-seok, and transition committee members held the inauguration ceremony of the 20th Presidential Transition Committee at the Financial Supervisory Service Training Institute in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 18th of last month.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Following the announcement of President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol's second cabinet lineup, Ahn Cheol-soo, chairman of the Presidential Transition Committee, has canceled all official schedules, while Yoon's side stated, "We have expectations and trust that (Chairman Ahn) will do his best and fulfill his responsibilities until the end."

On the morning of the 14th, Bae Hyun-jin, spokesperson for the president-elect, made this remark during a briefing held at the Presidential Transition Committee press briefing room in Tongui-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, in response to the assessment that "the joint government plan between President-elect Yoon and Chairman Ahn is wavering."

Spokesperson Bae explained, "There is still a long period of five years ahead to lead with the goal of a joint government," adding, "The transition committee period is less than a month. This short (transition committee) time is a very concentrated and important period for the new five years of the Republic of Korea, so I think Chairman Ahn can give special consideration and thought to its importance."

Regarding Chairman Ahn's cancellation of official schedules that morning, Spokesperson Bae said, "I don't know if the president-elect was directly informed," and added, "It does not seem appropriate to issue a separate statement. (Chairman Ahn) may have personal reasons."

About Chairman Ahn not attending the dinner scheduled with President-elect Yoon the previous night, Bae said, "It was a gathering for a work report in the evening," and explained, "The chairman may attend or may not attend due to personal reasons. It is not a mandatory event."

Earlier, inside and outside the transition committee, there was speculation that Chairman Ahn's cancellation of the official schedule that morning might reflect discomfort over the fact that no personnel from Ahn's faction were included in the cabinet lineup.

President-elect Yoon nominated candidates for ministers of 16 ministries, excluding the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, on the 10th and 13th, but none were from Ahn Cheol-soo's faction.

Han Duck-soo, nominee for Prime Minister, explained at a press conference on the cabinet announcement the previous day, "If the tone of joint state administration with Chairman Ahn was somewhat not reflected, it will continue to be reviewed during the candidate selection process."

When Chairman Ahn left the transition committee office in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, the previous day, he did not respond to questions about his position on the cabinet lineup announcement.

However, Choi Jin-seok, honorary professor at Sogang University and former standing co-chairman of Chairman Ahn's election campaign committee, criticized on Facebook, saying, "People from the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations have returned as they were."