By Choi Ha-young
President Moon Jae-in pleaded with the opposition parties Friday to endorse Foreign Minister-designate Kang Kyung-wha.
The plea came as the opposition bloc is refusing to approve not only Kang but also other nominees. The President can appoint her regardless of the National Assembly’s approval, but a unilateral decision could make it harder for him to get parliamentary support for other nominees and his policies.
“We sincerely ask the Assembly to endorse her as soon as possible,” presidential spokesman Park Soo-hyun said. “We request it to help Kang open a new era in diplomacy with a new leadership based on her experience at the foreign ministry and the U.N.”
Park said a summit with the United States is at hand, and there is a mountain of diplomatic issues to deal with including meetings with other heads of the states at next month’s G20 summit.
“As is widely known, Kang is a proven figure in international society, being given important positions by former U.N. secretary-generals Kofi Anan and Ban Ki-moon and incumbent head Antonio Guterres,” Park said.
He added this appeal came at the request of President Moon himself.
Besides Moon’s plea, Cheong Wa Dae also sent senior presidential secretary for political affairs Jun Byung-hun to the legislature to persuade opposition party leaders. Not only the largest opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) but also the two minor opposition parties ― the People’s Party and the Bareun Party ― are against Kang’s appointment.
They say Kang is unfit to be a minister as she has a number of ethical lapses including false residence registration and tax evasion.
Contrary to the political circle’s opposition, a growing number of civic groups and scholars are supporting Kang.
On Friday, 130 international aid groups announced their support for her, in addition to earlier support from former sexual slavery victims, women’s rights groups and the union of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“She is a person who can improve the standard of the nation’s international development and cooperation based on her international experience,” the Korea NGO Council for Overseas Development Cooperation said in a statement. “We hope the talented person will not be swept away by political interests.”
“Her human relations and administrative abilities are widely recognized in the U.N.,” Soh Chang-rok, director of the Korea University Human Rights Center, told The Korea Times. “She is the most proper person to push for human rights-focused diplomacy, which is crucial to enhance the nation’s soft power over the long term,” said Soh, who also works for the U.N. Human Rights Council.
Besides Kang, Moon’s bids to appoint Kim Yi-su as Constitutional Court president and Kim Sang-jo as Fair Trade Commission (FTC) chairman have encountered a backlash, as the opposition parties refused to endorse them.
Unlike other nominees, parliamentary consent is essential for Kim Yi-su ― even if the committee for personnel affairs at the Assembly approves his nomination, he has to pass a mandatory plenary session vote.
The LKP and Bareun Party oppose his nomination, citing his “left-leaning” political view. The People’s Party took issue with his past ruling that partly defended the Unified Progressive Party, which was dissolved in 2014 over some of its members’ “attempted rebellion.”
Kim Sang-jo was expected to get Assembly approval Friday, as the People’s Party decided to endorse him on the condition of requesting an audit into alleged wrongdoings. However, the “compromise” didn’t take place and the Assembly decided to discuss his nomination next week.
Only Kim Dong-yeon, deputy prime minister and finance minister nominee, was confirmed.