[Politics That Day] Why Did MB Government's First Cabinet Meeting Include Ministers from the Participatory Government?

February 2008, Dual Prime Minister Cohabitation System
Prime Minister's Parliamentary Approval, Ministerial Hearing Failures and Other Variables
MB's First Cabinet Meeting Also Attended by Ministers from the Participatory Government

Editor's Note‘On That Day in Politics’ is a series that looks back on Korean politics through the ‘recollection of memories’ related to notable scenes, events, and figures.

The awkward coexistence of Prime Minister Han Deok-su and Prime Minister nominee Han Seung-soo. In February 2008, the government had two prime ministers. The legally recognized Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea and the de facto Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea.

President Lee Myung-bak ascended to the highest power in the Republic of Korea on February 25, 2008. Although his five-year presidential term began, there were hurdles to overcome for governing the country. New prime minister and ministers were nominated, but they had to go through parliamentary confirmation hearings before receiving presidential appointment letters and starting their duties.

In particular, the prime minister nominee is subject to a parliamentary approval vote. Han Seung-soo, the prime minister nominee, had not been approved by the National Assembly by February 27, 2008, when the first Cabinet meeting of the Lee Myung-bak administration was held. This is why the last prime minister of the Roh Moo-hyun administration, Han Deok-su, and the first prime minister of the Lee Myung-bak administration, Han Seung-soo, had to awkwardly coexist.

The ministers were in the same situation. The minister nominees who were to work with President Lee Myung-bak were present at the parliamentary confirmation hearings on February 27, 2008, when the first Cabinet meeting was held. The National Assembly accelerated the related procedures by holding confirmation hearings for 10 ministerial nominees that day, but there were physical limits.

Former President Lee Myung-bak. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The plan was to complete the parliamentary approval of Prime Minister nominee Han Seung-soo by February 26, 2008, but the situation became complicated as the ruling and opposition parties clashed over the qualifications of some ministerial nominees.

At that time, the ruling Grand National Party (Hannara Party) actively moved to resolve the situation by recommending to the Blue House the voluntary resignation of some problematic ministerial nominees. This was an attempt to break the deadlock in the political situation by partially accommodating the opposition party’s objections.

The first Cabinet meeting of the Lee Myung-bak administration was held on February 27, 2008, at the Government Complex in Sejong-ro, Seoul, presided over by Prime Minister Han Deok-su of the Roh Moo-hyun administration. Although power had changed hands, the former power was temporarily filling the place where the current power should have been. It was an unavoidable situation to meet the requirements for establishing the Cabinet meeting.

Nominees Nam Ju-hong for Minister of Unification and Park Eun-kyung for Minister of Environment voluntarily resigned on February 27, 2008. As nominees who had faced pressure from the opposition party stepped down, a new phase began. It is known that the ruling Grand National Party leadership’s recommendation played a role in their resignations.

Former Minister of the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs Park Myung-jae / Sejong=Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Although the Lee Myung-bak administration launched in February 2008 burdened with political challenges, it overcame the situation based on the political skills of the ruling party leadership, and the Blue House found a way to resolve the issues by broadly accepting the views of the ruling party leader.

The first Cabinet meeting presided over directly by President Lee Myung-bak was held on March 3, 2008. Between February 27 and March 3, the appointments of Prime Minister Han Seung-soo and key ministers proceeded, and the Lee Myung-bak administration took shape.

However, the awkward coexistence situation continued even in the Cabinet meetings presided over by President Lee Myung-bak. Efforts to meet the Cabinet composition requirements continued as some ministers failed to pass confirmation hearings and were dropped.

It was a remarkable scene where four ministers from the Roh Moo-hyun administration, including Park Myung-jae, Minister of the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs, attended the Cabinet meetings presided over by President Lee Myung-bak as Cabinet members.