Opposition vows to veto reshuffle

By Yi Whan-woo

Three opposition parties said Wednesday that they would refuse to approve President Park Geun-hye’s partial Cabinet reshuffle announced the same day, calling the move a trick to avoid responsibility for the scandal involving her confidant Choi Soon-sil.

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the two minor parties — the People’s Party and Justice Party — said they will boycott confirmation hearings for the three nominees tapped by the President.

The three are Kim Byong-joon for prime minister; Yim Jong-yong as minister of strategy and finance and deputy prime minister for economic affairs; and Park Seung-joo as public safety and security minister.

Park named them earlier in what was seen as a desperate bid to grapple with a leadership crisis amid suspicions that Choi had been interfering with state affairs from behind the scenes.

Hearings are required before Cabinet nominees officially take their posts. Additionally, the endorsement for a prime minister requires a majority vote at the National Assembly after the hearing. The three opposition parties occupy 167 of 300 parliamentary seats.

Citing that the President’s decision was made without consulting them in advance, the opposition party leaders criticized Park for trying to maintain a grip on power through “tricks” amid growing calls for her to resign.

In particular, they questioned the eligibility of Kim for prime minister. They pointed out that he is closely connected to the former senior civil affairs secretary Woo Byung-woo, who is mired in a string of corruption allegations, including abuse of authority and embezzlement, and also allegedly has personal ties with Choi.

Citing a newspaper report in July 2013, People’s Party’s interim leader Rep. Park Ji-won said that Kim delivered a memorial address during a ceremony to mark the fifth anniversary of the death of Woo’s father-in-law Lee Sang-dal, who was a wealthy businessman. Both Kim and the late Lee were born in Goryeong North Gyeongsang Province.

Woo’s wife is under the investigation for owning a large amount of real estate and other assets she inherited from her father under someone else’s name. She is also suspected of reporting only a fraction of their value when Woo reported his wealth to the Assembly as is required for a senior civil servant.

“Woo may have disappeared from the stage, but he is still pulling strings from behind it,” Park Jie-won said

DPK Chairwoman Rep. Choo Mi-ae denounced the President for carrying out the reshuffle “unilaterally,” saying, “Such a reshuffle is against public sentiment.”

DPK floor leader Rep. Woo Sang-ho called on the President to withdraw the three immediately, saying “The DPK will not acknowledge them whatsoever.”

“We’ll not cooperate in convening confirmation hearings or other relevant parliamentary procedures.”

Calling the reshuffle an “unforgivable provocation,” Justice Party floor leader Rep. Roh Hoe-chan claimed that the President’s action was seen as “a declaration of war” against the opposition.

“She knows too well that the opposition holds over half of the National Assembly seats and endorsement for a prime minister will not be possible unless we cooperate,” Roh said. “Regardless of such circumstance, she just pushed ahead while ignoring the opposition’s demand to apologize and reveal the truth.”

The opposition parties said they should press the President harder. Some even asked her to step down.

Woo Sang-ho urged to bolster measures against the President, while Park Jie-won warned her not to provoke “mild-tempered People’s Party members to become hardliners.”

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, a DPK member, asked the President to resign “right away.”

Former People’s Party co-chairman Rep. Chung Jung-bae echoed a similar view, saying “An absolute number of people want her to resign and she should respond accordingly.”