Moon asks lawmakers to hold hearings on minister nominees

President Moon Jae-in speaks at the start of a weekly Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae , Tuesday. Yonhap

President Moon Jae-in has formally requested that the National Assembly hold confirmation hearings on his nominees to lead the justice and environment ministries, Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday.

Moon signed the relevant documents, which were later submitted to the Assembly at around 5 p.m., according to presidential office spokesman Kang Min-seok.

The President tapped Park Beom-kye, a three-term ruling Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker, as the new justice minister and Han Jeoung-ae, the party's policy chief, as the environment minister in a small-scale Cabinet reshuffle late last year. Park is a former judge, and Han, also a three-term lawmaker, used to be a labor activist. (Yonhap)