Jeong Jeom-sik says Kim Seung-won's nomination as justice minister signals push to withdraw indictments
Promotion of deputy ministers to economy, land posts called declaration that economic, housing policies won't change
The People Power Party on Sunday condemned President Lee Jae Myung's cabinet reshuffle — which replaced ministers across six ministries — saying it made clear that "the second year of the Lee Jae Myung administration will abandon the economy and national security and cling solely to a blitzkrieg to withdraw indictments," calling the move "deeply disappointing."
Floor Leader Jeong Jeom-sik said in a Facebook post that the reshuffle was "far removed from the 'livelihood-first' cabinet change the opposition demanded" and amounted to a "state-terrorism reshuffle that confirms the sole governing priority in the second year of power is withdrawing indictments."
Jeong was particularly pointed about the nomination of Kim Seung-won — the ruling party's floor whip on the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee — as justice minister, calling it "a declaration of the launch of a blitzkrieg to withdraw indictments."
"At a recent Democratic Party lawmakers' workshop, Rep. Kim officially declared alongside Judiciary Committee Chair Seo Young-gyo the push for a special prosecutor to withdraw indictments," Jeong said. "The president is placing the vanguard of the special-prosecutor effort to erase his own trial at the head of the Justice Ministry."
Jeong also said the decision to promote incumbent deputy ministers to the posts of deputy prime minister for the economy and land minister "clearly declared there is no intention to change the existing economic policy direction." He added that Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport minister nominee Hong Ji-seon "is well known as the person who designed the 'Gyeonggi Province basic housing' scheme — a representative example of President Lee's incompetence as Gyeonggi governor — having served as head of the province's urban housing bureau during Lee's tenure."
Jeong went on to criticize the president for retaining Kim Yong-beom as Cheong Wa Dae policy chief and Unification Minister Jeong Dong-young, calling it a "tail-docking reshuffle" that left in place those responsible for failures in the economy and national security. "Leaving Kim in his post is itself a declaration of refusal to reform governance, and retaining a unification minister who sympathizes with Kim Jong-un's two-state theory is a declaration of constitutional denial," he said.
Jeong also said the reshuffle showed "conspicuous reward appointments for those who lost in the June 3 local elections," and said giving former Rep. Kim Kyung-soo — convicted in the Druking comment-manipulation case — a post as special political adviser appeared aimed at appeasing the pro-Moon Jae-in camp. "Using appointments as a tool for political transactions is bad behavior," he said.
Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok said in a separate Facebook post that nominating Kim Seung-won as justice minister amounted to "handpicking a minister to take the bullet for canceling his own trial." Jang noted that Kim, a former defense attorney in the Daejang-dong case, had served as co-chair of the so-called "indictment-withdrawal group," led the push to introduce a special prosecutor act to withdraw indictments, and recently sponsored a bill to remove breach-of-trust charges — the very charges facing President Lee.
On the nomination of incumbent deputy ministers for the economy and land portfolios, Jang said it was "a declaration that economic policy and real estate policy will not change by even one iota," adding that the president intended "to put obedient bureaucrat-ministers up as a shield and do as he pleases."
hongi@heraldcorp.com
