Justice Minister Jung Sungho Appointed by Ruling Party-Led Vote
Koo Yooncheol, Cho Hyun, and Kim Jungkwan Approved by Bipartisan Agreement
The Office of the President announced on July 18 that President Lee Jaemyung has approved the appointments of Justice Minister Jung Sungho, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Koo Yooncheol, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, and Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Kim Jungkwan.
Earlier that day, the National Assembly adopted confirmation hearing reports for Koo Yooncheol, nominee for Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance; Cho Hyun, nominee for Foreign Minister; Kim Jungkwan, nominee for Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy; and Jung Sungho, nominee for Justice Minister. Lawmakers from the main opposition People Power Party also participated in the adoption of the hearing reports in the Strategy and Finance Committee, Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, and the Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee.
The hearing report for Jung Sungho was adopted through a vote led by the Democratic Party, despite opposition from the People Power Party. The ruling and opposition party coordinators of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, which held the confirmation hearing for Jung Sungho, had tentatively agreed to process the report at the plenary session, including both parties' opinions on his qualifications and disqualifications. However, the People Power Party demanded that the adoption of the report be postponed to July 21, citing a special prosecutor's search and seizure involving a People Power Party lawmaker. The Democratic Party rejected this request and proceeded with the vote.
Additionally, the Strategy and Finance Committee, Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, and the Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee held plenary meetings that morning and adopted hearing reports for Koo Yooncheol as Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Cho Hyun as Foreign Minister, and Kim Jungkwan as Trade, Industry and Energy Minister. The report for Lim Gwanghyun, nominee for Commissioner of the National Tax Service, was also scheduled to be adopted that day, but was postponed due to opposition from the minority party.
Initially, the People Power Party had taken a hardline stance, declaring that it would withhold the adoption of all hearing reports until action was taken against nominees deemed unfit. As a result, until the previous day, only the report for Baek Kyunghoon, nominee for Minister of Science and ICT, had been adopted by bipartisan agreement. However, the ruling and opposition parties reached a consensus the previous day that the appointments of the finance, foreign affairs, and industry ministers were necessary for negotiations on tariffs with the United States, leading to the adoption of additional reports on July 18.
Members of the People Power Party serving on the Strategy and Finance, Trade, Industry and Energy, and Foreign Affairs and Unification Committees issued a statement that morning, saying, "We have decided to adopt the confirmation hearing reports for Koo Yooncheol, Kim Jungkwan, and Cho Hyun." They added, "As a responsible party that prioritizes national stability and the well-being of the people, the People Power Party made this broad-minded decision out of a firm belief that the economic, trade, and diplomatic control towers must function properly to safeguard the national interest."
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