Election Forces Second Cabinet Shakeup

According to reports on February 20, President Roh Moo-hyun will conduct a second Cabinet reshuffle to replace the heads of government ministries who are running in the May 31 local elections.

“With new leaders elected in the Uri Party, a second reshuffle to replace ministers who are running for local elections is inevitable. The resignation deadline for government employees who are running in local elections is April 1,” said a Cheong Wa Dae official. “Considering that National Assembly hearings for replacement ministers take about 20 days, it is difficult to delay the reshuffling any longer.”

This official added, “This time, the vice ministers won’t be acting ministers, which is what the vice ministers of the Ministry of Unification and Ministry of Health and Welfare were last time.”

It is also being reported that newly elected Uri Party Chairman Chung Dong-young and Cheong Wa Dae are laying the groundwork to select ministers to run for the local elections and to serve in the party’s new leadership.

Another Cheong Wa Dae official commented, “The leadership of Uri Party is demanding a dinner meeting with the president around February 23, but it is very likely that it will be postponed until February 27 because of the president’s schedule.”

The Uri Party leadership has reportedly already chosen five ministers to run in the local elections: Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Oh Keo-don for Busan mayor, Minister of Environment Lee Jae-yong for Daegu mayor, Minister of Culture and Tourism Chung Dong-chea for Gwangju mayor, Minister of Information and Communication Chin Dae-je for Gyeonggi Province governor, and Minister of Government Administration and Home Affairs Oh Young-kyo for South Chungcheong Province governor.

There are also rumors that Minister of Construction and Transportation Choo Byung-jik will be running for North Gyeongsang Province governor, and Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Park Hong-soo will be running for South Gyeongsang Province governor.

However, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Kim Jin-pyo, who was mentioned as a possible candidate for Gyeonggi Province governor, is reportedly staying in his post. It is speculated that the reason behind this is because of his National Assembly seat. If Kim runs for governor, he will have to resign his seat in the National Assembly and by-elections will be held to fill the vacancy.

It is reported that some within the Uri Party want a few of the presidential secretaries to run in the local elections as well.

It is rumored that Senior Secretary to the President for Personnel Affairs Kim Wan-ki will not run and was told to stay in his post. However, Senior Secretary to the President for Process and Performance Management Lee Yong-sup is rumored to be running for South Jeolla Province governor.

Grand National Party spokesperson Lee Kye-jin said, “Picking Cheong Wa Dae officials or incumbent ministers to run for elections should be refrained from in order to stabilize national affairs as well as for the sake of fair elections. Using active ministers to run for office is the government’s way of intervening in elections, and it is a renunciation of their responsibility for running the country.”

Yeon-Wook Jung Chin-Ku Lee jyw11@donga.com sys1201@donga.com