The appointment of Minister of Gender Equality and Family nominee Kang Sun-woo and the controversy surrounding Presidential Secretary Kang Jun-wook has led to assessments that Lee Jae-myung's government's "honeymoon" has ended after two months.
According to the political sector on the 22nd, the presidential office has decided to request the National Assembly to resend the personnel hearing report regarding Minister nominee Kang Sun-woo, who faces allegations of bullying by aides and job interference. There are claims that the administration has effectively ended its early honeymoon period by pressing ahead with the appointment of Kang, who has been deemed "inappropriate" by both opposition parties, the ruling party, and civil society organizations.
Jang Sung-cheol, director of the Public Opinion Center, appeared on CBS Radio's "Kim Hyun-jung's News Show" on this day and noted, "Seeing the push for Kang's appointment made me think that the honeymoon might end in two months instead of six months," adding that "this could be a turning point where expectations turn into disappointment."
In fact, the opposition has been escalating attacks regarding the push for Kang's appointment. The People Power Party declared the previous day that even if Kang is appointed as Minister, they would not recognize her as Minister. Senior Spokesperson Park Seong-hoon explained to reporters after a meeting of the emergency response committee that "this means she will not be recognized as Minister in various standing committees and the National Assembly session."
Kim Yong-tae, a member of the People Power Party, also appeared on Channel A's radio show "Political Signal" that day and criticized, "The push for Kang's appointment is a declaration of war against the people by the Lee Jae-myung government," adding that "if they press ahead with appointments that contradict the people's expectations, this might be the first starting point to foresee failure."
There are claims that the ruling party provided the opportunity to break the early honeymoon period. From the People Power Party's perspective, the push for Kang's appointment has increased the possibility of intensifying attacks on the government.
Kang Jun-wook, the secretary who sparked controversy due to his advocacy of the 12.3 martial law situation and far-right historical view, voluntarily resigned in the morning of this day. However, there are evaluations that the presidential office faltered in handling the Kang issue. Only after criticism arose from both the opposition and within the ruling party did Secretary Kang take steps toward resigning. Earlier that morning, the Democratic Party of Korea representative candidates Jung Cheong-rae and Park Chan-dae collectively demanded Kang's resignation.
Prior to this, former Chief of Civil Affairs Oh Kwang-soo resigned just five days after taking office due to allegations of anonymous real estate. Issues related to appointments seem to be hindering Lee Jae-myung's government.