Parliamentary voting on Han Duk-soo’s nomination imminent

May 20, 2022, 09:30 am

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Prime Minister nominee Han Duk-soo leaves the office of the National Assembly Personnel Hearing Preparation Team at the Korea Productivity Center in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on May 19, 2022./ Source: Yonhap

AsiaToday reporter Lee Wook-jae

The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) is still debating whether to endorse Prime Minister nominee Han Duk-soo at a plenary session of the National Assembly, which will take place Friday.

The DP holds the ultimate say on whether to confirm Han, but remains cautious since its disapproval could create a negative image of the party ahead of the June 1 local elections, with criticism that the party is interfering with the operation of the new government.

Some say that President Yoon Suk-yeol should send a ‘gesture of reconciliation’ to the main opposition party by withdrawing his nomination for Minister of Health and Welfare Chung Ho-young, who is accused of using his position to get his children into a medical school, to bring Han’s approval. However, Yoon has reportedly decided to hold off the decision until the voting to approve Han.

“We should consider the fact the president, who is chosen by the people, is taking his first step,” said Lee Jae-myung, who leads the DP’s committee for the local election. “The DP should approve the prime minister nominee,” Seoul mayor candidate Song Young-gil shared. “Let them work and check afterwards. This is the people’s opinion,” Gangwon Mayor nominee Lee Kwang-jae said.

Their positions come after the DP saw its recent approval rating drop. Han’s disapproval could lead to criticism that the party is hindering the operation of the Yoon administration, and it is highly likely to lead to the defeat of the local elections. For this reason, those DP lawmakers running for local elections are keeping a cautious stance.

This is why there is a prospect that the decision to approve Han at the plenary session on Friday may be decided by self-voting rather than by party voting.

However, political observers say Han’s approval is unlikely since there are still many hardliners who are against the approval as many are concerned they could lose their political power.

Rep. Kang Byung-won of the DP sent a letter to DP lawmakers, saying, “The DP’s official position against the approval of the prime minister nominee should be decided. If we approve Han as prime minister, we will obviously face public criticism that we approved a puppet prime minister who never tells the president the hard truths.” The DP leadership, including floor leader Park Hong-geun, continue to make remarks to reject the approval.

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