PM confirmation faces bumpy path ahead

The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae is to exert all its powers on Monday to ask for the opposition political circles' cooperation in consenting to the appointment of Prime Minister nominee Lee Nak-yon.

While the opposition has been asking for President Moon Jae-in’s apology for what it saw as a faulty choice of personnel, the Blue House’s stance so far is that it shall not revoke the appointment.

“Senior presidential secretary for political affairs Jun Byung-hun, along with national security chief Chung Eui-young, is to visit the National Assembly at 10 am to meet with Speaker Chung Sye-kyun and floor leaders of leading parties,“ said an official of the presidential office.

President Moon, who has been pushing ahead with a set of state reform plans and personnel appointments, has been under fire since last week for the faulty qualifications of key government official nominees. The disputed list included the prime minister nominee, as well as Foreign Minister nominee Kang Kyung-wha and Fair Trade Commission Chairman nominee Kim Sang-jo, all having records of false residence registration in the past.

Though the false registration was a relatively minor flaw, compared to the conventional personnel disputes of ranking civil servants, it was Moon‘s own words which boomeranged at him.

During the campaigning season running up to the May 9 presidential election, Moon had pledged to make sure that those with moral defects are excluded from high-profile government posts.

Amid burgeoning disputes, Presidential Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok on Friday issued a statement, apologizing over the disappointment which Moon’s personnel decision may have caused to the public.

Also, Cheong Wa Dae was previously expected to announce the appointment of presidential secretariat and vice-ministerial Cabinet members, a move which is currently pending due to the president-parliament deadlock.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)