Less than four weeks after he assumed the presidency, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has nominated 17 out of 19 ministers to replace the Cabinet members of his predecessor, Yoon Suk-yeol, who was removed from office by the Constitutional Court on April 4.
As the June 3 presidential election was a “snap election” – scheduled after Yoon's impeachment for his illegitimate declaration of martial law – Lee immediately assumed the presidency upon his electoral victory. Thus he has had to work with the ministers and government officials who were appointed or nominated by Yoon as Lee prepares to form his own Cabinet.
With his nomination of Kim Min-seok as the prime minister, however, Lee's Cabinet will likely be formed within weeks, as the president has almost completed his selection of ministers.
Kim is a senior lawmaker in the ruling Democratic Party who worked shoulder to shoulder with Lee when he was the leader of the party. Kim will likely take office this week as Woo Won-shik, the speaker of the National Assembly, has vowed to hold a vote on Kim's nomination as prime minister by July 3. As the Democratic Party holds power in the National Assembly with 167 seats – more than half of the 300 total seats – Kim will become prime minister regardless of the votes from the main opposition People Power Party (PPP).
Some observers have criticized Lee's nominations as nearly half of 17 nominees are DP lawmakers. However, as Lee had to nominate new ministers as quickly as possible in order to replace the former Yoon Cabinet, nominating DP lawmakers to be ministers seems to be a nod toward efficiency. Lee is looking to move quickly on campaign promises to restore the country's democratic system and to revive its economy, which was devastated by the chaos following Yoon's martial law declaration.
Lee's chief of staff, national security adviser and spokesperson – all appointed by Lee a day after his victory in the presidential election – were also DP lawmakers. While legislators can concurrently hold office as a prime minister or a minister, they cannot take a position within the presidential office. These three members of Lee's inner circle had to resign from the National Assembly to assume their new duties.
The most notable of Lee's nominations was his decision to retain Song Mi-ryeong, the minister of agriculture, who was appointed by Yoon in December 2023. He also retained Oh Yu-kyoung as the food and drug safety minister. This decision clearly reflected Lee's self-proclaimed “pragmatic” style of leadership as it demonstrates that he can work with Yoon’s ministers if they prove their capabilities.
In order to eradicate the “insurrection” forces in the military, Lee appointed Ahn Kyu-baek, a senior lawmaker of the DP, as the defense minister. This was also a surprising nomination; since 1961, South Korean presidents had only appointed generals to serve as defense minister. Ahn completed his military service as private first class decades ago. Despite his lack of experience in the military, Ahn has been part of the National Assembly's Defense Committee since he became a lawmaker in 2008. In this context, he was widely expected to become Lee's defense minister as he was the most promising candidate – Ahn has no direct connections with the military but has vast knowledge about defense and security issues.
According to the recent polls, Lee's approval ratings have reached nearly 60 percent. Although Lee still has not met U.S. President Donald Trump, his moves to rebuild the country seem to have been applauded by the public.
Source: The Diplomat
Daniel Carter
