Environment Minister-Designate Also Quits

By Kim Yon-se
Staff Reporter

Two more Cabinet minister-nominees for the new administration withdrew their nomination Wednesday amid mounting public criticism on allegations that they were involved in illicit speculative real estate trading or enjoyed inappropriate tax breaks.

They are Environment Minister-designate Park Eun-kyung and hawkish Unification Minister-designate Nam Joo-hong.

The move came after Grand National Party (GNP) Chairman Kang Jae-sup advised President Lee Myung-bak to withdraw one or two more nominations during a breakfast meeting. Lee was elected president in December on the GNP's ticket.

Gender Equality Minister-designate Lee Choon-ho had already withdrawn her nomination over similar complaints on the eve of President Lee's inauguration day.

Presidential spokesman Lee Dong-kwan said, ``Lee will name other replacements soon,'' after the President designated Byun Do-yoon, 60, the former standing commissioner of the Seoul Women's Plaza, as Lee Choon-ho's replacement.

The National Assembly has delayed a confirmation vote on Prime Minister nominee Han Seung-soo till Friday.

The main opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) has been dragging its feet on approving his nomination due to controversy over his family's alleged real estate speculation.

About 65.6 percent of the people believe that President Lee must replace his Cabinet nominees who are suspected of immoral conduct, according to a survey of 700 adults by the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy.

Park, according to the UDP, purchased a plot of land in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, in 1999, which was classified as special farmland, which only those who engage in farming for at least 90 days a year are allowed to own.

The value of the land rose shortly after the purchase on the back of large-scale development in a nearby area.

Park and her husband are also said to have made frequent real estate purchases.

Nam, a former political science professor at Kyonggi University, has been at the center of a snowballing controversy over his hawkish North Korean stance.

Nam once called the 6.15 Joint Declaration, signed during the 2000 inter-Korean summit, ``a document for North Korea's maneuvering against South Korea.'' He also called the 2007 inter-Korean summit a promissory bill bound to be dishonored.

The UDP has raised serious objections about Nam's ability to serve in the unification position given his ideological views on North Korean affairs.

United States citizenship held by Nam's family members also foiled his appointment. The Korean public is still largely intolerant of this, which is seen as a means for men to escape compulsory military service.

Lee Choon-ho has 40 separate plots of land in 12 different cities and the combined value of her wealth is more than 45 billion won.

Facing the property speculation allegation, nominee Lee said she inherited the estate from her late husband.

President Lee took office in an impressive inaugural ceremony on Monday, but has yet to form a Cabinet, due to the opposition parties reluctance to confirm some of his ministerial candidates.

kys@koreatimes.co.kr