ED Change for survival
Time to adopt new policies after Cabinet reshuffle
President Moon Jae-in conducted a Cabinet reshuffle Friday in a desperate bid to regain public support following his party's crushing defeat in the April 7 mayoral by-elections. The shakeup is also aimed at helping him avoid becoming a lame-duck president with about one year left before the end of his term.
Moon nominated Kim Boo-kyum, a former four-term lawmaker and interior minister, as his new prime minister. The nomination reflects Moon's determination to win back the hearts and minds of voters who have turned their backs on his administration and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK). Kim, a non-mainstream moderate politician, is widely regarded as a figure who can promote social cohesion and national unity. He has been lauded for easing regional antagonism between the southeastern Gyeongsang provinces and the southwestern Jeolla provinces.
After being tapped for the country's second-most powerful post, Kim has promised to make efforts for inclusion and unity. He has also pledged to go all-out to boost collaboration with the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) which won a landslide victory in the mayoral by-elections in Seoul and Busan. He should mobilize all his experience and expertise to help develop bipartisanship with the conservative opposition.
Kim, if confirmed and appointed, should make concerted efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic and stabilize people's livelihoods. It is equally important to create more jobs and speed up the country's economic recovery. Kim also needs to work with the new Cabinet lineup to increase the supply of affordable homes and stabilize the overheated housing market. He knows better than anyone else that the Moon administration's repeated housing policy failures and the simmering land speculation scandal involving state-run Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH) employees were mayor reasons for the election defeat. The government cannot regain public trust without addressing these issues.
The Cabinet shakeup is more than necessary, given the present political deadlock and waning public support for the administration and the ruling party. President Moon's approval rating hit a record low of 30 percent in an opinion poll conducted last week by Gallup Korea. Yet the big question is whether the reshuffle is good enough to meet growing calls for drastic changes in a wide range of government policies, from housing and the pandemic to job creation and economic revival.
It is disappointing that the Moon administration is still balking at changing its ill-conceived and half-baked policies. The government is firm in maintaining its direction despite a series of mistakes and failures. This trend is manifest in Moon's nomination of five new ministers mostly with bureaucratic experience, signaling that he prefers stability to change. One of the nominees is Noh Hyeong-ouk, minister for government policy coordination at the prime minister's office, who was chosen as the new land minister. He is a budget strategist without any knowledge of housing; so it is questionable whether Noh, if appointed, will be able to bring runaway housing prices under control.
Another problem is that the DPK elected Yun Ho-jung, a hardline lawmaker belonging to the pro-Moon faction, as its new floor leader. His election indicates that the governing party will not change course despite the election loss. What the ruling bloc should do first is to reflect on its arrogance, self-righteousness, hypocrisy and unilateralism. The Moon administration and the DPK cannot restore public trust unless they adapt themselves for survival in the rapidly changing political landscape.