Park's troubles over chief of staff choice

By Kang Seung-woo

President Park Geun-hye appears to still be grappling with who to choose as her new “right-hand man.”

There have been expectations that Park would name her new chief of staff one day ahead of today’s second anniversary of her inauguration. But, Park failed to come up with a replacement for Kim Ki-choon, who offered to step down.

Political observers say that the selection of a new chief of staff, in charge of the presidential office on behalf of Park, may take longer than expected.

“There is no specific move regarding the appointment of the chief of staff,” said presidential spokesman Min Kyung-wook at a briefing Tuesday.

He added, “We need to see whether her selection of a new chief of staff will be made after the anniversary.“

A Cheong Wa Dae official said it is mere conjecture that the President would pick a new chief of staff before today’s anniversary date.

“It is not sure if President Park will come up with the Kim replacement ahead of Feb. 25,” said the official.

The appointment delay is due to a lack of candidates that can satisfy public demand for someone who can bring a fresh perspective to the government, according to those in political circles.

Among the candidates being considered for the job are Hyun Kyung-dae, a fifth-term lawmaker; Kwon Young-se, Seoul’s ambassador to Beijing; Kim Hyung-ho, president of the Korea Press Foundation; former Busan Mayor Hur Nam-sik; Justice Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn; and Han Kwang-ok, the head of the Presidential Committee for National Cohesion, all of whom are regarded as “old school.”

“President Park may want to pick those who are familiar with her, but she may be worried about the public reaction as well,” said Hongik University Professor Chung Goon-gi.

“It is tough to find new blood who will meet the public expectation among the pool of candidates.“

In this regard, some say that President Park ruled out the aforementioned candidates during the Seollal holiday and restarted the search from scratch in order to maximize the effect of choosing her new chief of staff, raising speculation that her appointment will come much later than expected.

President Park is scheduled to embark on a weeklong Middle East trip on Sunday.

“It is possible for Park to run the government without the chief of staff,” said Chung.

“She has fared without her senior secretaries at times and she does not seem to care about vacancies in her office.“

He added that as the chief of staff is the person with whom Park works together all the time, she may want to name someone with whom she feels comfortable.