Acting President Choi faces growing calls to resign

Jan 02, 2025, 07:39 am

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Acting President Choi Sang-mok, who also serves as deputy prime minister for economic affairs and finance minister, takes a commemorative photo with soldiers during a visit to the 2nd Marine Corps Division in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, on Jan. 1, 2025./ Source: Yonhap

AsiaToday reporter Hong Sun-mi

Acting President Choi Sang-mok on Tuesday appointed two justices to the Constitutional Court by surprise, sparking calls to resign.

According to the political circle on Wednesday, the ruling People Power Party (PPP) expressed strong regret immediately after Choi’s appointment, calling the move “unconstitutional.” “The appointment of Constitutional Court justices is regretful. Responsibilities and evaluations will follow,” said Rep. Kwon Young-se, chief of the PPP’s emergency steering committee. The remarks can be interpreted as a de facto demand for Choi’s resignation. All the senior presidential aides, including chief of staff Chung Jin-suk, as well as acting chairperson of the Korea Communications Commissions (KCC) Kim Tae-kyu, tendered their resignations en masse, increasing pressure on Choi to step down. It has been reported that Cabinet members shouted at Choi’s appointment at a Cabinet meeting held on Tuesday.

Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Moon-soo and KCC acting chairman Kim strongly criticized Choi, saying that it went beyond his powers. Acting chairman Kim submitted his resignation, saying, “It is a lack of democratic legitimacy to proceed with such an important decision unilaterally without listening to the opinions of the members of the Cabinet.”

The presidential office did not provide a reason for the resignation of all the senior presidential aides. However, it voiced strong regret over Choi’s decision in a rare statement, saying the acting president’s latest move “goes beyond the authorities of an interim leader.”

Even in the right-wing civil society, there is a growing public opinion that Choi should resign. “Choi Sang-mok played cheap tricks as a fence-straddler, and would be hit by both sides. His choice for the sake of the nation has only created another controversy,” said Kim Seong-hoe, former presidential secretary for religious and multicultural affairs.

Meanwhile, it is known that acting President Choi acknowledged that he exceeded his powers to some extent regarding the appointment and is reportedly considering to resign.

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