Looming Cabinet reshuffle

Moon should avoid revolving door appointments


President Moon Jaein is expected to conduct a Cabinet reshuffle early next month. The planned reshuffle should focus on appointing the best qualified figures to cope with pending issues such as the trade row with Japan, prolonged economic slump and the stalled denuclearization of North Korea.

Yet there are growing worries that Moon might be engaging in revolving door appointments by replacing some ministers with his close aides rather than new figures who can gain the trust of the people ― both progressives and conservatives.

Moon cannot avoid criticism if he appoints Cho Kuk, who served as senior presidential secretary for civil affairs until last week, as justice minister. Moon certainly believes that Cho is the best person to lead the Ministry of Justice to carry out his ambitious policy of reforming the state prosecution and giving more investigative power to the police.

However, Cho, a former law professor, has drawn the ire of the main conservative opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) for his repeated failure to thoroughly screen the qualifications of many ministerial nominees since Moon took office in May 2017. Cho has also come under attack for faithfully pushing for prosecution reform which the LKP is tenaciously opposing.

Against this backdrop, the ongoing political standoff between the ruling and opposition camps could escalate further if Moon ignores the LKP's opposition to Cho becoming justice minister. If this is the case, the President might stand little chance of keeping his promise to realize "cooperative politics" by forming a partnership with the opposition parties.

On Friday, Moon appointed Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) CEO Kim Jowon to replace Cho as new senior presidential secretary. The replacement is widely seen as a move to nominate Cho as justice minister. Moon also named two new senior secretaries for job creation and civic and social affairs.

We hope that the President makes a wise decision over who will become the next justice minister. It is important to push for prosecution reform to root out the rampant corruption in officialdom and ensure the rule of law.

It is equally important to form a partnership with the opposition parties in order to make joint efforts to revive the economy, tackle Japan's economic assault and deal with the rapidly changing geopolitical situations surrounding the peninsula.