May Cabinet Reshuffling Brings Uncertainty

The Cabinet reshuffling in the second round of President Roh’s administration, which is scheduled at the end of this month, is not advancing smoothly because of issues regarding Prime Minister Goh Kun’s exercise of the privilege of nominating ministers.

It was revealed on May 23 that Prime Minister Goh, who has the privilege of nominating ministers, has a negative attitude towards exercising it, while President Roh has a plan to change the ministers of Unification, Health and Welfare, and Culture and Tourism sometime this week.

According to the chief presidential secretary Kim Woo-sik, Goh said, “It is not reasonable that a Prime Minister exercises the privilege of nominating cabinet ministers with his resignation just ahead. Moreover, it will not be helpful to the President; it will be a burden to him,” when he was requested to exercise the privilege of nominating ministers for the Cabinet reshuffling by Kim.

Kim will meet with Prime Minister Goh again on May 24 to ask him to exercise his privilege of nominating ministers. Whether or not to implement the cabinet reshuffling will be decided sometime this week in accordance with the results of the meeting.

“Prime Minister Goh is likely to determine his attitude within a few days,” said Kim at a social gathering with journalists on May 23. “If Goh decides not to exercise the privilege of nominating, it will be passed to a new Prime Minister and the cabinet reshuffling will be put off.”

In addition, he said that they had never thought of the privilege of nominating exercised by the acting Prime Minister after the Prime Minister’s resignation, and that they want every minister and government official to devote themselves to national administration because the cabinet reshuffling will be implemented in only three ministries.

It was reported that the ministers to be reshuffled are from the ministries of Unification, Health and Welfare, and Culture and Tourism, and that strong candidates for each position are the former Uri Party chairman Chung Dong-young, its former floor leader Kim Geun-tae, and lawmaker Chung Dong-chae.

Jung-Hun Kim jnghn@donga.com