It appears that the appointment of Lee Jin-sook, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education nominee, and Kang Sun-woo, the Minister of Gender Equality and Family nominee, will be decided tomorrow.
Presidential Office Spokesperson Kang Yoo-jung noted in a media notice on the 19th that "internal reports and related follow-up discussions regarding the personnel hearing are scheduled for tomorrow." Earlier, Woo Sang-ho, the Chief of Staff to the President, said on the previous day's SBS Radio 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show' that "I will provide a comprehensive report to the President on what happened at the hearing, and if the President provides his position on current issues, we will move according to those guidelines."
The Deputy Prime Minister nominee has come under fire for allegations of plagiarism and intercepting a student's thesis and issues surrounding illegal early study abroad for his children. The Minister nominee is embroiled in controversy over allegations of mistreatment of staff. Chief Woo explained, "The reality is that there are minister nominees whose public sentiment does not settle down," and added, "I am reporting without filter the good opinions and the opinions calling for resignation."
Ahead of the Presidential Office's decision, political power struggles continued. Chief Spokesperson Choi Soo-jin of the People Power Party stated in a comment regarding the two nominees that "President Lee Jae-myung should honestly acknowledge the personnel failure and reconsider the nominees from scratch."
Chief Spokesperson Choi emphasized, "The national anger towards the two nominees, who are consistently holding out despite all controversies, is exceeding the critical point," and added, "Even among pro-government groups and the progressive camp, there is open opposition to the two nominees, so the answer is already decided."
On the other hand, the ruling party rebutted, saying, "Completing the cabinet formation is urgent for the recovery of the people's economy." Baek Seung-ah, the spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Korea, urged during a verbal comment that "the People Power Party should adopt the personnel hearing progress report promptly so that the Lee Jae-myung government cabinet can launch quickly," and pointed out, "I wonder if this is not using the hearing for opposition for the sake of opposition and political strife."