[Kim Myong-sik] Yoon Seok-youl looms large in 2021 Korean politics |
We are sadly sending off “Twenty-Twenty” and entering 2021 with very little hope for a better year. In the New Year, people will continue to live with the inconvenience of wearing face masks and in fear of inhaling the often lethal coronavirus, until community immunity has been established with universal vaccination, which still looks remote.
Enviously watching TV footage of vaccines being given in the United States, Europe and some countries in Asia, 50 million South Koreans, once proud of being better protected against the pandemic, are blaming their government for the delayed arrival of immunizations. The noise from the ruling group’s failed attempt to oust the prosecutor-general who was digging into their wrongdoings annoyed the nation throughout the year.
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SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean President Moon Jae-in reshuffled his cabinet on Friday as his approval rating sank to a record low amid a backlash over housing policies, rising coronavirus cases, and a scandal involving the justice ministry and top prosecutors.
FILE PHOTO: South Korean President Moon Jae-in speaks at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, October 28, 2020. Jeon Heon-Kyun/Pool via REUTERS
Moon nominated new ministers of interior, health, land and housing, and gender as he sought to refresh his administration, with roughly two years of his presidency to run.
Limited to a single term, and holding a small parliamentary majority, there is no obvious risk to Moon’s presidency, but the drop in ratings, a resurgence of coronavirus cases and nagging domestic controversies could make it harder for him to fulfil his agenda.
December 21, 2020 13:06
President Moon Jae-in has signed a law creating a new compliant body that will investigate corruption in high office instead of the prosecution In 2012, one of my campaign pledges was the establishment of [the body], and if it had been created back then, perhaps we would not have seen the corruption and influence-peddling by the Park Geun-hye administration, Moon crowed. We are creating another sword to rectify corruption among high-ranking government officials, and it is beyond me how others can compare this to a dictatorship.
How stupid does he think Koreans are? The crux of the law is that it takes away the veto of the opposition in choosing the head of the new body, so Moon can pick any official who is loyal to him. On past showing, there is a good chance that it will be a character like the appalling last two justice ministers, Cho Kuk or Choo Mi-ae, who were tasked with doing the president s dirty work. In reality, the new body will end up prote
December 21, 2020 11:01
Ahn Cheol-soo announced his bid for Seoul mayor on Sunday, vowing to halt the recklessness of the [Moon Jae-in] administration by running as the sole opposition candidate.
Ahn helped the ruling party back in 2011 after conceding the candidacy to Park Won-soon, who eventually won the race but killed himself earlier this year over a sexual harassment scandal.
Now the former IT tycoon hopes to block attempts by the ruling Minjoo Party to win the leadership of the capital again. If the opposition fails to win the Seoul mayoral election next year, the next presidential election will be a lost cause and Korea will go down the road of no return, Ahn told reporters. I decided to run for Seoul mayor because I m determined to solve the problem I created.
South Korea Minister Offers to Quit Over Fight Damaging President Bloomberg 12/17/2020 Jeong-Ho Lee
(Bloomberg) South Korean President Moon Jae-in is faced with a decision on the fate of his justice minister after she offered to resign over a dispute with the country’s top prosecutor that helped send the government’s approval rating to a record low.
Moon late Wednesday approved a Justice Ministry’s disciplinary committee decision to suspend Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl from his duty for two months, his office said. Separately, Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae tendered her resignation to Moon, who is currently reviewing whether to accept it, according to senior public communication secretary Chung Man-ho.