New Prime Minister to Have Significant Portion of Presidential Power

On November 2, South Korean President Park Geun-hye nominated Kookmin University professor Kim Byeong-joon as the new Prime Minister, Financial Services Commission Chairman Lim Jong-ryong as the new Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and former Minister of Gender Equality & Family Park Seung-joo as the new Minister of Public Safety & Security. The purpose of this cabinet reshuffle is to stabilize the country in the middle of the Choi Soon-sil scandal by letting in the figures close to opposition parties in response to the ruling and opposition parties’ request for a neutral cabinet.

The Prime Minister nominee served as the Presidential Policy Secretariat, the head of the Presidential Commission on Policy Planning and the Deputy Prime Minister for Education in the Roh Moo-hyun government. He is likely to be given a significant portion of the Presidential power, including the authority to recommend State Council members and that to propose the dismissal of Cabinet members.

The Deputy Prime Minister nominee came from the Jeolla Province, the main opposition party’s home turf, served as a Vice Minister of Strategy & Finance, a Secretary to the President for Economy & Finance and the head of the Prime Minister’s Office in the Lee Myung-bak government. He led the NH Nonghyup Financial Group in the present government as well. The Public Safety & Security Minister nominee also came from the Jeolla Province and was the Vice Minister of Gender Equality & Family in the Roh Moo-hyun government. It is said that the Prime Minister nominee recommended the other two before the nomination.

Opposition parties are dead set against the nomination, claiming that the President did not listen to their opinions in making the decision. The parties are planning to boycott their upcoming hearings. “Our request for a neutral cabinet has been turned down flat and the nomination is a typical example of how poor the President is at communication,” they mentioned.

In the ruling Saenuri Party, in the meantime, representative Lee Jung-hyun confirmed again that he would never resign in spite of the pressure from the members of the same party opposed to the President and the party leadership. The conflict between the two sides is likely to continue for a while.