ED Stop dirty political games
DPK hit for stymieing Cabinet formation of new government
The incoming Yoon Suk-yeol administration finds it difficult to form a Cabinet ahead of the May 10 inauguration of the country's new president. It is all the more so as the soon-to-be opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is playing politics with the confirmation hearings of Prime Minister-nominee Han Duck-soo and other ministerial appointees.
If the DPK continues to refuse to approve Han's nomination by May 9, Yoon will have no choice but to run his government without his first prime minister. In that case, the new president must work with Kim Boo-kyum, the last prime minister of the outgoing Moon Jae-in administration. The transition committee said Yoon is considering appointing Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister-nominee Choo Kyung-ho as acting prime minister.
The DPK and the soon-to-be ruling People Power Party (PPP) have so far adopted a report on only four of the 11 ministerial nominees who finished their confirmation hearings, paving the way for Yoon to appoint them. The four are Choo, Science and ICT Minister-nominee Lee Jong-ho, Environment Minister-nominee Han Hwa-jin, and Labor Minister-nominee Lee Jeong-sik. So there are growing concerns that the Yoon government may start with many Cabinet positions unfilled.
The problem is that the DPK is using delaying tactics in order to get what it wants. The party is reportedly asking Yoon to retract the nomination of his confidant Han Dong-hoon as justice minister in return for approving the prime minister-nominee. The DPK is strongly against the justice-minister nominee because the former senior prosecutor had spearheaded investigations into the core members of the Moon government over allegations of corruption and abuse of power. It argues that Yoon will directly control the Ministry of Justice by appointing Han as its chief to dig up dirt on corrupt figures of the previous administration.
It is absurd to link the endorsement of Yoon's prime minister-nominee to that of his pick for justice minister. The DPK should no longer delay putting his nomination to a vote. If it believes Han Duck-soo is not qualified to become prime minister, the party can vote against him. Making a deal with Yoon and his party is none other than an attempt to provide a shield for Moon and his ruling elite from possible investigations over a series of corruption and power abuse scandals.
The DPK has already come under fire for railroading two controversial bills through the National Assembly to deprive the prosecution of its investigative powers. President Moon cannot avoid criticism for signing the bills into law which is apparently aimed at preventing the prosecution from investigating the scandals.
It is regrettable that the DPK has abused its legislative power by using its 171 seats in the 300-member Assembly. It is also shameful for it to turn the confirmation hearings into a battleground for protecting corrupt officials and politicians. Confirmation hearings are designed to examine the qualifications and integrity of ministerial candidates. They should not be opportunities for a dirty political game to maximize partisan interests.
The rival parties should work together to sort out unqualified figures such as Education Minister-nominee Kim In-chul, who resigned over allegations of favoritism related to his family's receipt of a scholarship from a nonprofit organization. The PPP needs to acknowledge the transition team's poor vetting process for Health Minister-nominee Chung Ho-young, who has faced allegations that he used his position to get his children into medical school.
Prime Minister-nominee Han is also under criticism for his revolving door career which allowed him to earn huge sums for working as an adviser to law firm Kim & Chang after serving as prime minister for the Roh Moo-hyun government from 2007 to 2008. The DPK should determine Han's qualifications based on facts and evidence, not on partisan interests or political purposes. We urge the party to put Han's nomination to a vote immediately so that the next government can get off to a smooth start.