Moon to name unification, SME ministers

Kim Yeon-chul, left, unification minister nominee and Park Young-sun, right, SMEs and startups minister nominee. Yonhap file

By Jung Da-min

President Moon Jae-in will approve the appointment of Kim Yeon-chul and Park Young-sun the respective nominees to head up the ministries of unification, and SMEs and startups, on April 8, without the National Assembly's adoption of confirmation hearing reports for the two, sources said Sunday.

“It's highly likely President Moon will proceed to appoint Kim and Park as ministers as the hearings are not legally-binding,” one of the sources said. Kim and Park are longtime confidants of Moon.

The opposition want the two to voluntarily withdraw after the adoption of the hearing reports was denied. The main opposition Liberty Korea Party criticized Kim's pro-North Korean views and Park for refusing to submit required documents concerning alleged ethical lapses.

On April 2, Cheong Wa Dae asked the Assembly to re-send the confirmation hearing reports for Kim and Park, as well as interior and safety minister nominee Chin Young. The Assembly then passed the report for Chin but rejected the other two nominations. The deadline for reissuing the hearing reports was April 7.

Presidential chief of staff Noh Young-min apologized over the ongoing controversy surrounding the nominations during his appearance at the Assembly's audit of Cheong Wa Dae operations. But he did not comment on on the LKP's demand for the withdrawal of the nominees.

The decision is expected to increase political strife between the liberal and conservative parties as the Assembly needs to act on bills including reforms to the Labor Standards Act and the Minimum Wage Act.

Bills and revisions to deal with the conflict between taxi and ride sharing firms, reforming the electoral system, strengthening rules on kindergartens and other issues are also awaiting an agreement between the two liberal and conservative parties.

The conservative parties have warned that they will not cooperate with Assembly activities unless President Moon withdraws the appointments and fires Cheong Wa Dae officials who were in charge of the nominations.

Among the seven people initially nominated to Cabinet posts, Cheong Wa Dae voluntarily withdrew the nomination of KAIST professor Cho Dong-ho as science and technology minister, March 31, the same day Choi Jeong-ho dropped out as land and transportation minister nominee.