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| Cho Kuk, presidential nominee for justice minister, speaks at his office in central Seoul, Friday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul |
By Do Je-hae
President Moon Jae-in nominated former senior presidential secretary for civil affairs Cho Kuk to lead the justice ministry, according to the presidential office Friday.
The President also picked Rep. Lee Soo-hyuk of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), a former career diplomat with expertise in North Korea affairs, to replace Korean Ambassador to the U.S. Cho Yoon-je. Rep. Lee is a former career diplomat who served as Seoul's top negotiator in the six-party nuclear talks during the previous Roh Moo-hyun administration.
The President also named Jeong Se-hyun, a former unification minister, to lead the National Unification Advisory Council, a presidential advisory panel on unification issues. Jeong served as minister of unification during the previous Kim Dae-jung administration from 2002 until 2004.
"This completes phase two of President Moon's Cabinet," presidential spokeswoman Ko Min-jung said during a press briefing Friday at Cheong Wa Dae. "We placed priority on ethics and expertise in relevant areas, in addition to incorporating gender and regional proportions."
The reshuffle, however, was criticized for recycling previous officials and in particular for bringing back Cho, who left Cheong Wa Dae last month.
Cho's "promotion" was announced with nominations for three other ministers and six ministerial-level posts in the highly anticipated Cabinet reshuffle, which comes amid a host of domestic and international troubles as the President enters the critical halfway point in his five-year presidency.
The nominees will go through a confirmation hearing at the National Assembly. The President's pick for justice minister is expected to go through intense scrutiny at the National Assembly. Opposition lawmakers are expected to grill him over his activities before, during and after his service at Cheong Wa Dae. As one of the top presidential secretaries, he was slammed for failures in screening candidates for top-level government posts and lax discipline at the presidential office. But Cheong Wa Dae has continued to praise him, reflecting the President's deep trust in the former law professor at Seoul National University. Cho has also been heavily criticized for his overly anti-Japanese stance, which was seen as inappropriate given his status in the Moon government.
"Based on his academic experience, his ability to communicate smoothly with the people and his experience in performing his duties as a senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, we expect him to complete key tasks such as reform of the prosecution and the justice ministry to establish a fair and just legal order," Ko said.
The main Liberty Korea Party (LKP) criticized Cho's nomination as a "ploy for the general election next year." It is widely expected Cho will run in the parliamentary election in April 2020.
He said he will face his upcoming National Assembly hearing with a humble attitude. "I would like to ask for an opportunity to sweat again with the heart of a farmer who does not fear the scorching heat," Cho told reporters Friday. "I will meticulously prepare policies and talk to the people about them."
The President retained Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo despite strong calls for replacement amid a series of diplomatic and national security blunders and rising doubts about the Moon administration's capacity to deal with a range of challenges, including the escalating tension with Japan and North Korea's resumed missile launches.
The reshuffle affected the gender, agriculture and ICT ministries, in addition other state organizations such as the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Fair Trade Commission. Eun Sung-soo, head executive of state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea, has been picked to lead the FSC.
Other minister nominees are Choi Ki-yung, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Seoul National University, for the Ministry of Science and ICT; Agricultural Vice Minister Kim Hyun-soo; and Lee Jung-ok, a professor at the Daegu Hosung Catholic University for the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.
