Days after South Korean President Lee Jae-myung withdrew his nomination of Lee Jin-sook as education minister, Kang Sun-woo, a lawmaker of the ruling Democratic Party, announced she was withdrawing as the nominee to run the Gender Equality Ministry.
Lee Jin-sook’s lack of capability to serve as the education minister was captured during the confirmation hearings held last week. She was accused of plagiarizing and stealing papers, which she has denied, but admitted to revelations about her daughter’s early study abroad – which is illegal prior to high school under South Korean law. Beyond these multiple controversies, Lee simply was unprepared as a candidate, as she fumbled some key questions on the country’s education policy. In this context, not only the opposition but also supporters of the DP strongly demanded that President Lee withdraw her candidacy.
While Lee Jin-sook confronted snowballing criticism from lawmakers, Kang was accused of abusing her aides. According to local reports, a group of DP lawmaker aides firmly shared its concerns over Kang to Kim Byung-ki, a floor leader of the DP. The DP was divided into two groups: one defending Kang, who believe the accusations are exaggerated, and another demanding that Kang withdraw her candidacy lest she damage perceptions of the Lee Jae-myung administration.
When the Presidential Office announced the president’s decision to cancel the candidacy of Lee Jin-sook as the education minister nominee, Woo Sang-ho, a senior secretary for political affairs for the presidential office, said Lee Jae-myung would appoint Kang after a thorough consideration. However, as Lee’s approval ratings turned downward, pressure rose within the DP for Kang to withdraw her candidacy. In a Facebook post on July 23, Kang expressed her will to withdraw her candidacy.
Except for the agriculture minister, most of the ministerial positions in South Korea’s Cabinet have now been filled with new figures nominated by Lee. And nearly half of the nominees are DP lawmakers, as Lee had to assume the presidency just a day after he won the snap presidential election on June 3. Since the election was scheduled due to the Constitutional Court’s removal of Yoon Suk-yeol, who had illegally declared martial law on December 3, Lee did not have a lengthy transition period to form his government. Thus he sped up the appointment process for ministers by mostly nominating DP lawmakers whose personal verification process was de facto completed through the general elections last year.
Lawmakers nominated for ministerial positions normally face few issues through the appointment process, as those running the hearings are their colleagues in the National Assembly. However, Kang has now become the first sitting lawmaker who failed to be appointed for the ministerial position to which she was nominated.
The Presidential Office said it will swiftly find the candidates for the ministers of education and gender equality. However, these early failures proved that the candidate vetting system within the presidential office is imperfect. Many Koreans simply do not understand how Lee Jin-sook could have been nominated as the education minister nominee, given the many flaws in her candidacy. It remains to be seen how the Presidential Office will relieve the public’s concerns.