No rush on post-election reshuffle

President Moon Jae-in/ Yonhap

By Do Je-hae

President Moon Jae-in is expected to take his time with a possible Cabinet reshuffle which has been highly anticipated in the wake of a sweeping election victory on April 15 for the ruling party.

Since then, Moon has faced mounting speculations that he will conduct a reshuffle to re-energize his administration in time to mark the third year of his five-year presidency on May 10.

The speculations of ministerial-level replacements have revolved mostly around ministers that have been with the President since Moon arrived at Cheong Wa Dae in May 2017, including Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and Health Minister Park Neung-hoo. But Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki has emerged as a possible consideration for replacement following news reports that he offered to resign last week.

His reluctance to expand the anti-disaster fund to all citizens, rather than a certain percentage of the people with relatively low income, has reportedly aroused conflict with the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun. But Cheong Wa Dae has refuted such reports, saying that Hong is respected as the chief economic policy maker.

Some recent reports said that Hong expressed an intention to resign to the Prime Minister Chung and Presidential Chief of Staff Noh Young-min. “The differences are a natural part of the policy-making process. There is no reason for personnel issues to be raised,” a senior presidential aide said on April 24.

The presidential office is also being prudent about reports of an imminent reshuffle, saying that the President will keep his focus on rebuilding the economy in the post-COVID 19 period. Recent news reports said that Cheong Wa Dae could announce a reshuffle in June after the 21st National Assembly, created through the April 15 general election, is initiated on May 30. But a reshuffle could be delayed further as President Moon prioritizes stability over change in his administration while he fixes his concentration on improving the economy in the coming months.

In addition to a reshuffle, Moon may also seek a reorganization of ministries to respond to the new needs from the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the noticeable changes expected to take place is to empower the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), the control tower for handling infectious diseases.

Moon and the ruling party have pledged to strengthen the capacity of the KCDC by separating it from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, enabling it to take full charge of the personnel and budgetary affairs. The DPK has also proposed the reorganization of the health ministry to increase its capacity for dealing with health emergencies by creating a couple of high-level ministerial posts