There has been much talk of a possible reshuffle of the Cabinet and the Blue House senior staff since President Park Geun-hye accepted Maritime Minister Lee Ju-young’s resignation last week.
Lee’s resignation had been anticipated because he had expressed his intention to step down several times since the tragic sinking of the Sewol ferry in April. As the head of the ministry responsible for, among other things, recovering the bodies of the victims of the worst maritime catastrophe in decades, Lee stayed at a port near the accident site for 136 days.
As Park put it, Lee embodied the true image of a public servant by performing his duties faithfully, which deeply touched the bereaved families and the general public. Lee deserves kudos for his sense of responsibility and compassion, and his toils over the past eight months.
Lee’s resignation drew public attention not only because of what he has done regarding the Sewol disaster but also the possibility that it may lead to a shake-up of the Cabinet and the Blue House senior staff.
Neither Park nor her senior aides have given any strong indication of whether or not she will replace other senior government officials when she appoints Lee’s successor.
But speculations about a possible reshuffle are running high partly because Park’s approval ratings have plummeted to a record low due to a scandal surrounding the leak of Blue House documents that suggest her former and current aides and younger brother engaged in influence-peddling.
In fact, since the scandal broke, Park has been under pressure ― from the opposition and even part of the ruling party ― to replace senior government officials ― especially those in the Blue House.
The allegations ― which are largely about behind-the-scenes influence-peddling by people close to the president ― have yet to be substantiated, but they strengthened public suspicion about those involved in the scandal, especially a triad of Park’s long-time advisers.
Making matter worse, a former culture minister said that one of the three key aides ― commonly referred to as the “three doorknobs” to presidential power ― interfered with appointments of senior officials.
Things like this have added fuel to calls for the president to sack the three Blue House aides and replace her chief of staff, Kim Ki-choon, who critics said should take responsibility for the document leaks that prompted the scandal.
Regarding Cabinet reshuffles, Park used to say that a president should not use a shake-up of ministers to divert attention from a crisis in the presidency or government. Park was also right in saying that it was undesirable for the president to shake up the Cabinet in the name of a “fresh start” or only because some of them have had their jobs for a long time.
But what is certain is that Park and her administration are encountering increasingly stronger skepticism about the way they run the nation.
Besides, Park is standing on the doorstep of the third full calendar year of her five-year tenure, in which she can take advantage of a one-year political window before the next parliamentary elections.
Park faces a lot of challenges in the new year ― tackling the economy, reforming the pension plans for government workers and the labor market, and dealing with North Korea and Japan, to name a few.
A president with an approval rating of less than 40 percent and who relies too much on her inner circle and sticks to a rigid operation of the government would be unable to meet all the daunting challenges. The Park presidency definitely needs to be reinvigorated.
