The People Power Party focuses on additional resignations following the withdrawal of Kang Sun-woo as the candidate for the Minister of Gender Equality and Family and the retraction of the nomination of former Chungnam National University President Lee Jin-sook as the candidate for the Minister of Education. In particular, with Kang's mid-course exit breaking the 'incumbent lawmaker undefeated' formula, the party plans to target other Minister candidates as well. There are also analyses that the repeated failures in personnel verification will negatively impact the approval ratings of President Lee Jae-myung.
Chairperson Song Eon-seok, who also serves as the floor leader, said in the emergency response committee meeting held in the National Assembly on the morning of the 24th, "Both the Democratic Party of Korea, which blindly defended Kang Sun-woo, and President Lee Jae-myung, who insisted on the resubmission of the hearing report, cannot escape responsibility for this situation."
The People Power Party aims for a 'plus alpha' following the resignation of Kang and Lee. Additional candidates who may need to withdraw their nominations or resign voluntarily include Kwon Oh-eul as the candidate for the Minister of Veterans Affairs, Ahn Kyu-baek as the candidate for the Ministry of National Defense, and Jeong Dong-young as the candidate for the Ministry of Unification.
Candidate Kwon is facing criticism for receiving improper pay due to 'double dipping' in work hours and for lacking expertise. Candidate Ahn has not submitted his military records amid suspicions related to the fact that his service period in the military has been 8 months longer than normal, raising questions about whether he has received punishment. Candidate Jeong is accused of proposing a conflict of interest bill related to a solar power business run by his family.
Chairperson Song noted, "Former Senior Presidential Secretary Oh Kwang-soo resigned amid allegations of managing real estate under false names, former Labor Secretary Park Song-ho resigned due to a history of wage arrears, and former National Integration Secretary Kang Jun-wook stepped down due to past statement controversies," adding, "The repeated resignations and controversies go beyond mere deficiencies in personnel verification by the presidential office, indicating that there was originally no personnel verification system in place."
For the time being, the People Power Party is expected to concentrate on criticizing the government's appointments rather than internal adjustments led by the innovation committee. There are also opinions indicating that it would not matter if Minister candidates are appointed without resigning. This reflects the fact that forced appointments during cabinet formations in past administrations have resulted in declines in approval ratings. Indeed, former President Yoon Suk-yeol and former President Moon Jae-in also faced declines in approval ratings after forcibly appointing candidates who were controversial during the hearing process.
The party will concentrate its efforts on the upcoming hearing scheduled for the 29th for Choi Hwi-young, the candidate for the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and Kim Yun-deok, the candidate for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Previously, the People Power Party launched the 'Public Candidate Verification Center' and has been receiving various reports.
A source in the opposition commented, "As concerns over the expertise or moral controversies of the candidates in the Lee Jae-myung administration are becoming prominent, there is a need to concentrate the party's efforts on candidate verification for the time being," adding, "As revealed by examples from the previous government, the more wrong appointments continue, the more burdens will increase for the ruling party and the government."