Chief of Political Affairs Woo Sang-ho said on the 21st that President Lee Jae-myung's decision to push forward with the appointment of Kang Seon-woo as Minister of Gender Equality and Family, despite the 'aide abuse' controversy, was influenced most by the opinions of the ruling party leadership. While there were opinions within the ruling party that Kang's 'abuse of power' constituted a disqualifying reason, it indicates that the leadership, including Democratic Party leader and floor leader Kim Byung-ki, supported Kang.
On the same day, Chief Woo appeared on CBS Radio and, in response to a host's question about the background of the decision to 'withdraw the nomination of Lee Jin-sook and push forward with Kang Seon-woo's appointment,' said, 'We made this decision after considering various factors in a comprehensive manner. However, it appears that the ruling party leadership's opinion had the most influence in the case of Kang.' When asked if the fact that Kang is an incumbent lawmaker was reflected in the appointment decision, he simply replied, 'Please ask the ruling party leadership.'
The deadline for the adoption of the personnel hearing report on the candidate Kang was the 19th. If the report is not adopted by the deadline, the president can request the National Assembly to resend it, setting a period within ten days. President Lee is expected to request the resending of the hearing report for Kang to the National Assembly soon. If the report is not adopted by the resending deadline, the president can appoint the ministerial candidate regardless of the National Assembly's decision.
Chief Woo commented on the possibility of the president's judgment on candidate Kang changing during that period, saying, 'The announcement was made yesterday because he was appointed. If he were not going to appoint him, why would he announce it separately?' This means that the possibility of President Lee withdrawing the nomination of candidate Kang due to critical public opinion is virtually nonexistent.
On the other hand, regarding the withdrawal of the nomination of candidate Lee Jin-sook for Minister of Education, he said, 'It was a method that came after consulting with the party concerned,' adding, 'I did what he wanted.' He also stated, '(President Lee) listened to many diverse opinions and made a decision after considering various factors comprehensively,' expressing understanding for the various grievances of those who do not agree with this and urging the public for understanding.