President focuses on domestic agenda Monday after Sunday night return

Cheong Wa Dae staff reshuffle, minister picks among key tasks

North Korean POW transfer sparks diplomatic friction with Ukraine

Opposition intensifies DMZ explosion allegations

President Lee Jae Myung greets Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam on Sunday after returning from a five-night, seven-day trip to the United States and Mexico. [Yonhap]
President Lee Jae Myung greets Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam on Sunday after returning from a five-night, seven-day trip to the United States and Mexico. [Yonhap]

President Lee Jae Myung returned home Sunday after a five-night, seven-day trip to the United States and Mexico that overlapped with the chuseok holiday, coming back to a full slate of unresolved domestic issues.

During the trip, Lee presented a Korean Peninsula peace initiative at the UN General Assembly, held a third summit with US President Donald Trump to discuss sensitive security and economic matters, and expanded trade and advanced-industry cooperation in Mexico — wrapping up a round of multilateral and bilateral summit diplomacy that Cheong Wa Dae described as a success.

But the president now faces a string of tasks at home: a reshuffle of his Cheong Wa Dae staff, follow-up minister appointments, the launch of the new Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, and simmering diplomatic friction with Ukraine.

Cheong Wa Dae said Lee had no public schedule Monday and spent the day reviewing domestic issues that had piled up during his absence.

Personnel decisions top the list of immediate priorities. Most urgent is the appointment of a director for the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, which is set to launch Friday.

The confirmation process for Kim Ji-yong, the nominee for inaugural director, has stalled amid additional vetting. With the launch now five days away, a decision on whether to proceed with his appointment is expected this week. Cheong Wa Dae is widely expected to send a confirmation hearing request to the National Assembly shortly.

Differences have emerged even within the ruling camp over Kim's nomination, making Lee's final call the focus of attention. The prevailing view inside Cheong Wa Dae, however, is that there are no disqualifying problems.

The Cheong Wa Dae staff reshuffle is equally complicated. Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik submitted his resignation on Tuesday — the day Lee departed for the trip — saying he would take overall responsibility for the administration's management, but Lee has yet to decide whether to accept it.

Former Policy Chief Kim Yong-beom resigned earlier this month, and if Kang is also replaced, two of the three senior secretariat positions at Cheong Wa Dae would be vacant, making the follow-up appointments a matter of considerable interest.

Minister appointments add to the pressure. The administration needs to move quickly to fill the posts left open after Kim Seung-won, the nominee for justice minister, and Yong Hye-in, the nominee for gender equality and family minister, both withdrew.

With personnel controversies continuing to mount — spanning both key Cheong Wa Dae aides and major cabinet posts — attention is focused on what standards Lee will apply and what message of renewal he will send through his choices.

Also drawing attention is how Lee plans to address divisions within the broader ruling camp, which analysts have cited as a key factor behind the recent slide in his approval ratings.

At a meeting with Korean diaspora members in Mexico, Lee alluded to the difficulties of pushing through reforms, citing the debate over abolishing the National Security Law as an example and saying, "If you move too fast, too far, too urgently, you invite a backlash." The remarks were widely interpreted as a veiled reference to writer Yu Si-min, who has recently been critical of Lee.

Tensions with Ukraine also remain a headache. After President Volodymyr Zelensky publicly disclosed at the UN General Assembly that two North Korean prisoners of war had been transferred to South Korea, the two countries became embroiled in a dispute over whether a confidential agreement had been reached.

Meanwhile, the opposition has seized on a suspected landmine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone to sharpen its attacks on Lee, arguing that deliberate delays in the investigation, a cover-up, or a downplaying of the incident could not have happened without a direct order from the president.


sang@heraldcorp.com