Cheong Wa Dae demands apology from transition team for raising speculation over DSME CEO appointment

Cheong Wa Dae /Yonhap

Cheong Wa Dae demanded an apology from President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's transition team Friday for accusing the outgoing administration of interfering with the appointment of the new CEO of Daewoo Shipbuilding Marine Engineering (DSME).

Park Soo-hyun, senior secretary for public communication, told TBS radio the Moon Jae-in government "has never been involved in personnel appointments at private companies."

On Thursday, transition committee deputy spokesperson Won Il-hee said the team will ask the state auditor to look into the appointment of Park Doo-sun, a friend of Moon's younger brother, as CEO of DSME, which is under government control.

Won denounced the appointment as "irrational" and "shameless."

Park struck back, describing Won's remarks as "insulting," and demanded the transition team to "politely apologize."

He said the transition team threw "cold water" on efforts by Moon and Yoon to ensure a smooth transition.

DSME is considered a quasi-public firm based on its ownership structure. The shipbuilder's largest shareholder is the state-run Korea Development Bank. (Yonhap)