[Insight & Opinion] Lee Hyehoon's Appointment: From Pragmatism and Unity to Personal Transformation

The appointment of former People Power Party lawmaker Lee Hyehoon as Minister of Planning and Budget was the most eye-catching among the minister-level appointments in the Lee Jaemyung administration. By bringing back figures from the Blue House era, the administration could have signaled a new start with an image of inclusiveness and unity. The appointments of Lee Hyehoon and former lawmaker Kim Seongsik, both experts in their respective economic fields, were also seen as merit-based selections that transcended political factions.

However, within the opposition party, Lee Hyehoon's participation in the administration was denounced as a betrayal. Some members of the ruling party also expressed opposition, arguing that appointing figures who had opposed impeachment and defended the insurrection was problematic. Nevertheless, the shock effect that shook both the ruling and opposition parties was not insignificant. Yet, Lee Hyehoon's appointment is increasingly being perceived as a personal transformation, rather than a move toward inclusiveness, unity, or shaking up the political establishment.

Because it is extremely rare for opposition figures to be appointed to key government positions, Lee Hyehoon's selection was surprising. Moreover, given that the People Power Party and the administration have been in a near-war state of antagonistic confrontation, the participation of an opposition figure was far from ordinary. For this reason, the People Power Party's denunciation of her as a traitor was somewhat understandable. Lee Hyehoon herself emphasized the president's sincerity, saying, "The Ministry of Planning and Budget is not something you can easily hand over to your opponents. Assigning me to such a crucial ministry demonstrates the president's genuine intent."

Another issue was whether the appointments of Lee Hyehoon and Kim Seongsik, both of whom have criticized the Lee Jaemyung administration's populism, would translate into actual changes in economic policy. Lee Hyehoon has been a vocal critic of the president's basic income and cash distribution policies, labeling them as populist. The question was whether the administration would shift to a new pragmatic approach, or if these appointments were simply a one-off image strategy. Yoon Heesook, a former lawmaker and Lee's junior in the field of economics, criticized the appointment, arguing that although Lee is an economist, she is not a specialist in budgeting or fiscal policy and thus is not the right fit for the role.

In fact, aside from the appointments of these two individuals, recent government personnel decisions do not show a particular commitment to pragmatism or unity. Looking at the composition of the Social Reform Committee, which was announced around the same time, nearly all the members were progressive activists or experts, perhaps because the topic was social reform. There was no sign of efforts to establish a new relationship between the ruling and opposition parties. Despite ongoing criticism of the administration for excessively appointing people with shared backgrounds in the bar exam or those who served as legal counsel during the Daejang-dong case to key government positions, the president also appointed lawyer Kim Seongsik, his bar exam peer and former defense counsel during his term as governor of Gyeonggi Province, as president of the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Within the ruling party, some have raised concerns about Lee Hyehoon's past opposition to impeachment, but Lee herself has addressed these concerns by declaring a complete transformation. Initially, it was reported that the Blue House was somewhat accepting of her past actions. "Such differences are part of the process of building consensus, and the differences themselves are not inherently wrong," they said.

However, President Lee also added, "She must personally explain herself and clearly express her intention to break with the past." In response, Lee Hyehoon apologized, saying, "At the time, I did not fully grasp the facts. Immersed in partisanship as a member of a political party, I lost sight of the essence of the issue and the true nature of the crisis facing the national community." The People Power Party, which almost never uses the term "insurrection," has now labeled her actions as such, marking a complete reversal. This is a personal transformation.

The president's appointment of Lee Hyehoon and others was a surprising event. However, the initial image of pragmatism and unity that drew attention has now faded. As the appointments have come to be seen as personal transformations, the shock effect on the political establishment has also dissipated. The remaining issue appears to be whether she can bring about any changes to the Lee Jaemyung administration's economic policy stance, which she has criticized as populist.

Kim Manheum, former Chief of the National Assembly Research Service