Cheong Wa Dae stresses Moon's right to personnel appointments until end of term

President Moon Jae-in has the right to make personnel appointments until his term ends, a senior official said Thursday, amid speculation the issue is one of the reasons for the cancellation of Moon's planned meeting with his successor-elect Yoon Suk-yeol.

"It is not right to argue about the president's right to personnel appointments," Park Soo-hyun, senior secretary for public communication, told MBC radio, a day after Moon's first meeting with Yoon was called off.

Park also denied as "groundless" media reports that Cheong Wa Dae may allow Yoon to nominate the next head of the Bank of Korea (BOK). Park said it would be "nonsense" if Moon does not exercise his given right to personnel appointments.

BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol's term ends at the end of this month, while Moon's term ends on May 9.

Moon and Yoon had planned to hold a meeting Wednesday, their first encounter since Yoon's election last week. However, the meeting was called off at the last minute as working-level, pre-meeting discussions had not been completed yet

Cheong Wa Dae and Yoon's side said they were rescheduling the Moon-Yoon meeting.

Both sides did not provide details on why the planned meeting did not take place.

But a disagreement over whether to pardon imprisoned former President Lee Myung-bak could be among them, along with the issue of personnel appointments.

In the lead-up to the planned meeting, aides to Yoon had said Yoon would ask Moon for a special pardon for Lee, now serving a 17-year prison term for embezzlement and bribery.

Yoon's side has also asked Cheong Wa Dae to make consultations before making appointments for key posts. (Yonhap)