President Moon Jae-in’s designation of Kang Kyung-wha as foreign minister would score 90 out of a perfect 100 points merely for the fact that she would be the first woman to hold the office if confirmed by the National Assembly.
But what makes the appointment a success or failure is how well Kang, a former United Nations deputy commissioner for human rights, will score out of the remaining 10 points.
Moon has promised to fill 30 percent of his inaugural Cabinet with women, a strong affirmative action that will deal another deserved blow to the still male-dominated society. Also notable is that Kang is nominated for a post with heft, not those usually regarded for women.
Kang has two hurdles in getting a parliamentary confirmation, both about her 33-year-old daughter ― her American citizenship and extralegal activities in getting her an education in Korea. Cheong Wa Dae said Kang was nominated on condition that her daughter gives up her American citizenship to reacquire the Korean one.
If cleared, Kang would face more intrinsic hurdles in her new job.
The 62-year-old career diplomat doesn’t have the experience to speak on the nation’s most compelling diplomatic challenge ― the resolution of North Korea’s nuclear and missile challenges.
Now, the North Korean issue is reaching critical mass as Pyongyang and Washington are locked in a dangerous game of chicken with a catastrophic denouement not being ruled out.
How she would squeeze herself into what has been regarded as a contest of testosterone and project Korea into the center of it will be a herculean task to say the least. Most of the nation’s top envoys have failed or gained only limited success.
Then, the issue of comfort women, Korean sex slaves under Japan’s colonial rule, is another thorny issue that may catch any qualified foreign minister flatfooted. Japan shows no signs of accommodating any change in the bilateral December 2015 agreement to settle the matter once and for all.
The bigger challenge is that these two issues are as much international ones as well as domestic matters.
Now, the Moon government wants to make a drastic change from the previous government‘s policy, seeking reconciliation with the North and becoming more confrontational with Japan.
Kang’s political orientation is not clear. She did interpretation work for Kim Dae-jung, the liberal president who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his Sunshine Policy of seeking closer ties with Pyongyang. But she is known for getting the job offer for her being close to Ban Ki-moon, the former U.N. secretary general. Ban based his presidential bid on a conservative to right-of-center platform before he dropped out.
If she fails to get realigned with Moon’s inner circle and perform well on the international stage, she could see herself relegated to be the “flower” of the Cabinet. That would be a real disappointment to a nation struggling to overcome the effects of the failed first female presidency of Park Geun-hye.