Moon replaces justice minister to push for reform

President Moon Jae-in, right, is seen with Choo Mi-ae, chairwoman of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and Rep. Park Byeom-kye, a DPK spokesperson, during a meeting at Cheojng Wa Dae in March 2018. Moon on Wednesday named Park as the replacement for Choo, who has served as Moon's second justice minister since January this year. Yonhap

Inaugural chief of investigative agency named

By Do Je-hae

President Moon Jae-in accepted Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae's previously offered resignation, Wednesday, following a recent court decision that granted an injunction to Prosecutor-General Yoon Seok-youl against a ministry disciplinary committee's order suspending him from duty for two months.

Moon's decision to replace the justice minister comes after months of calls from the public and opposition to dismiss the former five-term lawmaker of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) who have been weary of the longstanding conflict between her and the top prosecutor. The Choo-Yoon conflict and political wrangling over the President's push for prosecutorial reform have emerged as key factors that have significantly hurt public trust in the Moon administration.

The presidential office announced a replacement for Choo, in addition to two other ministerial posts, in a briefing the same day. The President named DPK Rep. Park Beom-kye, a former judge, to replace Choo, who will continue to serve in the post until the confirmation hearing for Park. Moon also named Rep. Han Jeoung-ae, policy chief of the DPK, as environment minister, and Hwang Ki-chul, a former chief of staff of the Navy, as the minister of patriots and veterans affairs.

This is the second Cabinet reshuffle this month following Dec. 4 when Cheong Wa Dae announced replacements for several ministers, including the land minister, who is the top policymaker for housing, amid growing public indignation over the Moon administration's failure to contain housing prices.

The consecutive reshuffles are seen to mirror the urgency Cheong Wa Dae sees in the need to revive policy momentum and restore public trust amid the Choo-Yoon conflict and the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, which has brought a myriad of socio-economic challenges for the people and the government. But it remains to be seen whether the reshuffles will actually change the way the people perceive the Moon administration. Moon's job approval rating has hit record lows in recent weeks, plunging down to the 30-percent range.

“At a time like this, the President needs to seek a huge change in his management of national affairs,” Choi Jin, director of the Institute of Presidential Leadership in Seoul, told The Korea Times. “This can be done either through a reshuffle or policy change. Moon needs to quickly put the Choo-Yoon conflict behind him and seek to restore public trust in his leadership. The most urgent area that needs policy change is housing and he needs to revamp his policies related to the people's livelihoods. If the people do not respond well to the reshuffles and other things Moon does in the future, then his approval rating will continue to decline.”

The ministerial-level nominations were the first of three separate personnel-related press briefings Cheong Wa Dae made Wednesday. It was extremely rare for Cheong Wa Dae to make a series of personnel announcements in a single day.

Before the announcement of ministerial nominees, Cheong Wa Dae also announced the nominee for the inaugural chief of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO). Moon nominated former judge Kim Jin-wook, a senior researcher at the Constitutional Court, to head the organization, which is one of the centerpieces of Moon's prosecutorial reform.

Later in day, the presidential office also announced that Moon's long-serving chief of staff Noh Young-min; Kim Sang-jo, chief of staff for policy; and Kim Jong-ho, senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, all offered to resign in order to create momentum for a “fresh start” for the President.

The resignation of Kim Sang-jo is particularly considered a surprise. Moon has stood by him despite incessant criticism of his administration's economic and housing policies, the main purview of the chief of staff for policy, for fear that replacing him may give the signal that Cheong Wa Dae acknowledges its alleged missteps in these core areas related to the people's livelihoods.

The presidential office denied suspicions that his offer to resign is partly to do with the outburst of criticism of the Moon administration's handling of vaccinations against COVID-19. “The chief of staff for policy played a leading role in securing a plan for vaccinations for 56 million people, so it is not fair to see this as a failure,” a senior presidential aide told reporters. “Therefore, it is inappropriate to say he is resigning to take responsibility for the situation surrounding the vaccines.”