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Justice Minister nominee Cho Kuk heads home in Seoul’s Seocho District on Sept. 8. (Yonhap News)
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S. Korean president mulls over all options amid preparations for Typhoon Lingling
Despite expectations that South Korean President Moon Jae-in might confirm his nomination of Cho Kuk as Minister of Justice as early as Sept. 8, Moon is taking time to mull over his options. Moon appears to be taking into consideration a wide range of factors, including not only the sharp divide in public opinion about Cho’s nomination but also the prosecutors’ aggressive investigation of Cho and his family and the political consequences of either pushing through or dropping Cho’s appointment. A senior official from the Blue House told reporters on Sept. 8 that Moon was now legally authorized to appoint Cho but that nothing had been decided yet. On Sunday, the president reportedly listened to a range of opinions about Cho’s appointment from members of the ruling Democratic Party, among others. Moon is taking his time because of the sheer number of issues to consider, with Cho’s potential appointment involving more factors than initially expected. The Blue House’s original plan was to appoint Cho this weekend, following his appointment, and then to have him attend the cabinet meeting scheduled for Sept. 10 to wrap up the controversy that had dragged on for a month. There are still numerous figures at the Blue House and in the ruling party who think that Cho doesn’t have enough baggage to justify retracting his nomination, and the Justice Party has relieved pressure further by declining to blackball Cho, promising to “respect the president’s authority to appoint officials.” But there are complications: the prosecutors have been moving more aggressively than expected, indicting Cho’s wife Chung Kyeong-shim, a professor at Dongyang University, without even calling her in for questioning, while the opposition party has been vigorously pushing back against Cho’s nomination, talking about a parliamentary probe, a special prosecutor, and a motion calling for Cho’s dismissal. In effect, the prosecutors have joined the political opposition in its standoff against the ruling party. “The stakes have been raised. We’ve got to look at the big picture, including such issues as prosecutorial reform, a fair society, and political reform. We’ve got to look at this in connection with the parliamentary elections next year, and whatever choice we make, we also have to think about what moves to take after that. That means that [the president] must have a lot on his mind right now,” said one lawmaker in the Democratic Party. “This isn’t just a matter of the appointment; we’re looking at a situation where we have to listen to what people [on the outside] are saying about various issues, including prosecutorial reform and principles of governance,” another official at the Blue House said. One thing that the Blue House finds particularly troubling, sources say, is the fact that the prosecutors have launched such a sweeping investigation of the very nominee who is supposed to institute prosecutorial reform. That goes beyond the discomfort of prosecutors meddling in politics and puts the administration in the position of potentially having to tear up its prosecutorial reform strategy and start over from scratch. Given the Blue House’s determination to make headway on reform, it may wish to avoid pairing Prosecutor-General Yoon Seok-yeol with Justice Minister Cho Kuk, who would make strange bedfellows and likely waste precious time while butting heads. In his book “Destiny,” Moon expressed his regret that the Roh administration had missed a good opportunity to reform the prosecution and never got another one. Before long, Moon will have to decide who will have to take the fall to ensure that he doesn’t miss his opportunity this time around. By Lee Wan and Kim Kyu-nam, staff reporters Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
