Yun reveals his position on the general election at the Cabinet meeting on the 16th… Considering the selection of Prime Minister and Chief of Staff

The direction of government reform will likely be revealed through a live broadcast… There is no public address
Looking for a card for the Prime Minister and Chief of Staff to give a ‘renovated image’… Concerns about establishing a new legal chief

President Yoon Seok-yeol plans to directly reveal his position on the general election through a statement at the Cabinet meeting on the 16th.

This is the first general election-related message directly announced by President Yoon since his defeat in the general election on the 10th. It is reported that there will be no separate announcement through a public address or press conference.

◇ Should we make a gesture of cooperation with No… There doesn’t seem to be a public address.

According to an official from the Presidential Office on the 15th, President Yoon is expected to reveal the specific direction of reforming state affairs and cooperation policies with the next National Assembly through a live broadcast of the Cabinet meeting.

In particular, as cooperation with the major opposition party is essential to realize various national tasks involving legislation within the term, attention is being paid to the level of ‘cooperation gestures’ to be taken.

With Prime Minister Han Deok-soo and the President’s Office staff expressing their collective gratitude, there is a possibility that future personnel selection policies will be mentioned.

Previously, on the 11th, the day after the general election, President Yoon delivered the message through Chief of Staff Lee Kwan-seop, saying, “I will humbly accept the will of the people expressed in the general election, reform state affairs, and do my best to stabilize the economy and people’s livelihood.”

Afterwards, internal discussions continued with the staff on the direction of government affairs and measures to resolve the general election. The ‘Emergency Economic and Security Meeting Due to the Middle East Crisis’ chaired the day before was the only public event.

Initially, there were predictions that he would reveal his position on the general election through methods such as a public address or press conference, but it was reported that the final decision was made to convey the message through the Cabinet meeting.

An official from the President’s Office said in a phone call, “If you make remarks about the general election during the Cabinet meeting, there is no need to make a separate statement to the public.”

President Yoon has not held a separate press conference since his 100th day in office on August 17, 2022. Even during the public address on medical reform on the 1st, there were no separate questions and answers.

◇ The prime minister and chief of staff are in deliberation mode… Opinions on selection of ‘bitter-sounding personnel’

It appears that President Yoon’s concerns are lengthening over the appointment of the Prime Minister and Chief of Staff, which will be the first ‘measures’ of intensive government reform.

Candidates for prime minister include Kim Han-gil, chairman of the National Unification Committee, as well as People Power Party prominent figures Joo Ho-young and Kwon Young-se, but the situation has not yet been resolved.

Chairman Kim has held major positions in the opposition party and served as Minister of Culture and Tourism in the Kim Dae-jung administration, so there is an evaluation that he is a person that the opposition party will find difficult to oppose during the confirmation hearing. However, on the contrary, there is an opinion that such background is an obstacle to being nominated as prime minister.

Many say that both Rep. Joo and Rep. Kwon have moderate and reasonable personalities. However, Rep. Joo, a former judge, has a strong ‘Youngnam image’ as he was elected to the 6th term in Daegu, and Rep. Kwon has the image of being close to President Yoon’s two years senior at Seoul National University Law School as a senior prosecutor.

There is also a lot of criticism pouring in on the candidates for the position of Chief of Staff, who is the closest aide to the President and does not require a National Assembly confirmation hearing process.

Former Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong, People Power Party lawmaker Jeong Jin-seok, and former lawmaker Lee Jeong-hyun, who was re-elected in Honam, are mentioned first. The names of Chairman Kim Han-gil, Rep. Jang Je-won, and former Rep. Yu Ki-jun are also mentioned.

The day before, there was a feeling that former Minister Won was likely to be the Chief of Staff, but there are also opinions that the fact that he graduated from Seoul National University Law School with a prosecutor background is a factor. This also applies to Rep. Kwon Young-se, who is mentioned as a candidate for prime minister. Even in this general election phase, the frame of “Seoul National University Law School prosecutor government that is out of sync with public sentiment” was one of the attack points put forward by the opposition party.

There are also opinions that the chief of staff or the prime minister should form an appropriately tense relationship with the president. The point is that people who will make so-called ‘bitter comments’ should be selected at an unprecedented rate. Some say that we should refer to the case of former President Kim Young-sam appointing former Board of Audit and Inspection Lee Hoi-chang, who was also at the mercy of the regime at the time, as prime minister.

◇ The establishment of a new senior legal secretary was also discussed… In fact, the revival of ‘Secretary for Civil Affairs’?

It is reported that the President’s Office is also considering a plan to establish a new office, tentatively named ‘Chief Secretary for Legal Affairs’, which will oversee the Office of the Secretary for Public Service Discipline and the Office of the Legal Secretary.

This plan came from the idea that it was necessary to collect and analyze various information related to public sentiment by reviving the ‘Office of Senior Secretary to the Civil Affairs’, which was abolished with the inauguration of the current government, minus the assessment function.

An official from the ruling party said in a phone call, “There is a need for a function that tracks and collects various public sentiments and provides reference opinions on the president’s administration of state affairs.”

The Office of the Senior Secretary to the Civil Society, which caused controversy due to former Senior Secretary Hwang Sang-moo’s ‘Hoe Knife terrorist remarks’, is also being discussed to reduce its functions and merge them.

In relation to this, an official from the President’s Office said, “We are hearing suggestions that an organization that listens to public opinion is needed, but no decision has been made.”

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