Mun, who said “Ignore the opposition party, and angered the disregarding personnel”, enforced the 26th appointment

On the 29th, President Moon Jae-in awarded a letter of appointment to four people, including Byeon Chang-heum, the new Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport at the Blue House. Minister Byeon became the 26th minister-ministerial figure to which President Moon enforced the appointment despite opposition from the opposition party. In particular, the appointment of Minister Byeon is highly criticized for the conflict between the values ​​President Moon has put forth so far and Byun’s remarks.

It was revealed that during the personnel hearing process, Minister Byeon said that “a company employee died by mistake” about the death of a screen door at the Guui Station when he served as the president of SH in 2016. At the time of the accident, President Moon pointed out the structural problem, saying that it was an accident created by a “profit-oriented society and a country of greed”, showing a completely different perception from Minister Byeon.

As if President Moon was conscious of this, he said to Minister Byun at the appointment ceremony that day, “I was reprimanded at the hearing, and I apologized several times. Considering that, it deserves criticism.” In response, Minister Byeon answered, “I am sorry for causing concern with the sochi of immorality,” said Blue House spokesman Kang Min-seok at a written briefing.

As the appointment of ministers, irrelevant to the opposition party’s consent, continued, criticism also emerged from the politicians, “Why do you have a personnel hearing to do this?” There were 3 Roh Moo-hyun administrations, 17 Lee Myung-bak administrations, and 10 Park Geun-hye administrations who enforced the appointment of ministers and ministers without opposition party consent.

The appointment of this kind of minister by the current government began in June 2017 when Kim Sang-jo was the chairman of the Fair Trade Commission. Chairman Kim was the first ministerial and ministerial-level personnel announced by the Moon Jae-in administration. At that time, the Future Integration Party (currently the power of the people) raised the suspicion of hiring the former chairman’s wife Kim’s preferential teachers and refused to adopt the personnel hearing progress report. However, President Moon awarded the letter of appointment. In the first year of his inauguration alone, President Moon appointed five ministers and ministers without adopting a hearing report by the National Assembly.

Even afterwards, even if there were suspicions of camouflage transfer, hearing perjury, etc., there have been cases in which President Moon enforced the appointment. Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol was also appointed without opposition party consent. Lee Jae-mook, a professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (political science), said, “The existence of the Personnel Hearing Act means that’even if the administration does the appointment of ministers, the role of checks will be placed in the legislature’. He pointed out that it is important to listen to the voice of President Moon.

In the days of the opposition party, President Moon had a different position on the presidential appointment. In June 2015, a candidate for Prime Minister Hwang Gyo-an, nominated by former President Park Geun-hye, was opposed by the opposition party due to suspicion of evading military service. President Moon, who was the representative of the New Political Democratic Union, said at the time, “I cannot help but anger at the arrogance and disagreement of President Park and the ruling party who ignored the opposition party and the people and pushed for approval of the candidate for Prime Minister Hwang Gyo-an.”

However, after taking office, President Moon made a remark that seemed to take lightly at the personnel hearing. In October 2018, when he gave a letter of appointment to Yu Eun-hye, Vice Prime Minister of Social Affairs and Education Minister, he said, “There is a legendary story that people who suffered a lot during a personnel hearing are doing better. Deputy Prime Minister Yoo was not able to adopt a hearing report by the National Assembly due to suspicion of moving into a building under the cover of his daughter and moving into the building of an agency under surveillance, but the appointment was enforced.

President Moon also appointed former Justice Minister Cho Kook, who was unable to adopt the hearing report due to various suspicions, in September of last year, saying, “The stronger the reformer, the more difficult the hearing process will be.”
However, the court recently sentenced Cho’s wife, Professor Jeong Gyeong-shim of Dongyang University, to four years in prison, pointing to Cho as an accomplice for forging the daughter’s internship confirmation. The suspicion raised at the time of the personnel hearing was revealed in the court.

Sogang University Emeritus Professor Son Ho-cheol said, “Suspiciousness was raised during the hearing process, but the issue of appointment as it is not only the Moon Jae-in administration, but systemically continued problem.” The system must be changed to either not do it at all or do it right. It is necessary to discuss the direction of strengthening the check mechanism to prevent the president from unilaterally appointed.”

Reporter Yoon Seongmin [email protected]