Published : Feb. 8, 2015 - 19:51
President Park Geun-hye will carry out a “small-scale” Cabinet reshuffle after her prime minister designate gets parliamentary approval, sticking to her plan despite surging demand for a change in her leadership and her unilateral personnel choices.
Presidential spokesman Min Kyung-wook speaks to reporters at the Cheong Wa Dae press center in Seoul on Sunday. (Yonhap)
“(The president) is expected to conduct a Cabinet reshuffle with the recommendation of the new prime minister after the parliamentary approval of nominee Lee Wan-koo is completed,” presidential spokesman Min Kyung-wook told reporters on Sunday.
“What I know (now) is that the scale (of the shake-up) will be small, including the maritime minister,” he said. The maritime minister’s post has remained vacant since late last year after former Minister Lee Ju-young returned to his party.
The announcement came after Min announced the list of new vice ministers appointed by the president on Sunday.
Park named presidential secretary for education Gim Chae-chun as education vice minister, and promoted assistant ministers for future strategy and culture, Choi Jae-you and Park Min-kwon, to vice-ministerial posts in their respective ministries.
When asked about the fate of Park’s chief of staff, Min said there will be an announcement about it after Lee’s confirmation process wraps up.
“It is said that there will be an announcement,” he said. But the spokesman said that it is not yet known whether the announcement will be about Kim leaving or staying.
Min also hinted that the president is likely to appoint presidential advisers for political affairs after the confirmation hearings.
Last month at her New Year’s news conference, the president said she would conduct a “small-scale” Cabinet reshuffle. Park appointed Lee, former floor leader of the ruling Saenuri Party, as her new prime minister and replaced three senior presidential secretaries.
But she has come under growing pressure both from the ruling and the main opposition to carry out a massive reshuffle of her Cabinet and presidential secretaries to restore public support for her reform drive.
Her approval ratings plummeted more than 10 percentage points in three weeks to below 30 percent on Jan. 27. It was her lowest rating since she entered office and far lower than when her leadership was questioned in the wake of the Sewol ferry accident. Her disapproval rating also polled above 60 percent for the first time.
Critics say that Park’s plan to keep the scale of reshuffle minimal reflects her determination to maintain “stability” in her state management. Some suggested that the president could replace a few ministers, including unification, land and transport, and maritime.
The presidential office appears to have decided to retain as many incumbent Cabinet members as possible, amid fears of losing time in the confirmation hearings on new nominees as Park entered her third year in the office. Her term ends in early 2018. Under the Korean law, Cabinet members are subjected to confirmation hearings, but only the prime minister nominee requires parliamentary approval.
The National Assembly plans to hold a confirmation hearing for Lee Tuesday and Wednesday, with a vote scheduled for Thursday. If the prime minister nominee obtains parliamentary endorsement, the reshuffle could be carried out over the weekend or early next week, according to observers.
Park appears confident as she plans to reveal the names of her new Cabinet appointees after Lee gets parliamentary approval. But it remains unclear whether he will pass the parliamentary vote amid escalating controversy over his alleged power abuse over media, academic plagiarism and real estate speculation.
By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)