Opposition rejects defense, education nominees

Three main opposition parties on Friday urged President Moon Jae-in to withdraw the nominations of two Cabinet picks -- Defense Minister nominee Song Young-moo and Education Minister nominee Kim Sang-kon.

The main opposition Liberty Korea Party, centrist People’s Party and splinter conservative Bareun Party also pressured the two nominees to voluntarily give up the jobs, declaring them unfit and unqualified.

The call for resignation came even before the parliamentary confirmation hearing was over for former Gyeonggi education superintendent Kim.

As the hearing continued for a second day Friday, the education chief nominee fought hard against a barrage of attacks on allegations over plagiarism and his “left-leaning” political disposition.

Defense chief nominee Song’s hearing took place on Wednesday, but the parliamentary panel has failed to adopt a report on him to present to the plenary session.

Also on Friday Cho Dae-yop, nominated to head the Employment and Labor Ministry, underwent harsh scrutiny during his confirmation hearing. The conservative Liberty Korea Party has grouped him with the aforementioned two, calling the three “the unfit trio.”

“The unfit trio should voluntarily resign from their nominations,” the chief policymaker of the Liberty Korea Party Rep. Lee Hyun-jae said.

The interim chief of People’s Party, Rep. Park Joo-sun criticized President Moon’s personnel selections.

“I do not understand why the government is always choosing personnel involved in irregularities. We cannot accept the appointment of such ‘unfit’ figures,” Rep. Park said.

Despite the opposition, Moon may push ahead with the appointment of the three, as a ministerial appointment does not require parliamentary approval.

During his hearing, the former chief of naval operations Song was grilled over allegations that he received an excessive salary for a law firm adviser position after leaving the Navy in 2008. He earned 990 million won ($868,000) during the two years he worked for Yulchon from 2009 to 2011.

He is also accused of receiving a hefty salary while working as an adviser for a local military contractor, LIG Nex1, between 2013 and 2015.

Labor minister nominee Cho is accused of hiding his drunk driving record in 2007. He is also criticized for his lack of experience in the field of labor.

The ruling Democratic Party is firmly protecting the disputed nominees, saying no critical flaws have been found in them.

“Most of the allegations over the nominees have been cleared during the confirmation hearings. There has not been a critical fault (of a nominee),” chief of the ruling party Rep. Choo Mi-ae said in a party meeting Thursday.

Meanwhile, the hearing report on Minister of Unification nominee Cho Myoung-gyon was adopted by the parliament committee on Thursday afternoon, after his confirmation hearing took place earlier in the day.

He is expected to be appointed to head the Unification Ministry next week after President Moon returns from his trip to Washington, for the first Korea-US summit.

The four political parties across the aisle, including the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, had previously signed a written agreement on Tuesday to resolve the gridlock status at the National Assembly.

By Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)