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Blue House spokesperson Jung Youn-kuk announces the appointment of Kim Byong-joon

President Park Geun-hye’s surprise announcement of Kookmin University professor and Roh Moo-hyun administration figure Kim Byong-joon as her nominee for Prime Minister on Nov. 2 signals her commitment to overcome her current troubles with a scandal surrounding Choi Sun-sil’s interference in state affairs by implementing a “responsible prime minister.”

Park’s decision is a rejection of demands from opposition parties that she delegate her authority and all selection of a Prime Minister by bipartisan consensus after her identification as being responsible for the Choi scandal. And with more and more evidence surfacing of Park’s personal involvement in the raising of funds for the Mir and K-Sports Foundations, it could be that her surprise Cabinet reshuffle is an attempt to draw attention away.

Park’s surprise Cabinet reshuffle on Nov. 2 - in defiance of demands from the opposition and civil society - signals that she is not willing to let go of the governance reins, sending a clear message that she does not plan to back down. The Blue House explained the decision as an “inevitable” move to prevent a governance vacuum due to “executive paralysis.” It also explained that by appointing figures from the Roh administration (2003-08) and Honam region (Gwangju and the Jeolla provinces, a traditional liberal stronghold) to the Cabinet, Park had essentially honored the aims of the neutral national Cabinet demanded on both sides of the aisle. Kim Byong-joon is seen as an opposition figure, having served as chief of the policy office for Roh’s presidential secretariat, while Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs nominee Lim Jong-ryong and Minister of Public Safety and Security nominee Park Seung-joo hail from Boseong and Yeonggwang in South Jeolla Province, respectively.

“[Park] picked Prof. Kim as a responsible prime minister to honor the aims of the neutral national Cabinet politicians are demanding, and she will assign great authority to the new Prime Minister,” said a Blue House source of Kim’s selection.

Another source explained, “The selection of a Roh-administration figure with different political views as a new Prime Minister means the President is backing off from domestic politics.” The explanation is that the new Prime Minister will be in charge of domestic political affairs related to the economy, society, and education, while Park will focus on foreign affairs and national security matters such as a response to the North Korean nuclear program.

But in its process and particulars, the Nov. 2 Cabinet reshuffle differed from the kind of neutral national Cabinet or responsible prime minister system civil society and politicians on both sides of the aisle have been demanding.

“If it were really President Park’s aim to introduce a responsible prime minister system, there would have had to have been some kind of ground-clearing effort beforehand by stating her vision to both sides. She has disregarded that process,” said Dong-A University professor Park Hyeong-jun.

In the past, former National Assembly Speakers and other senior figures in society have argued that the best approach to selecting a candidate would be for the National Assembly to reach an agreement on a bipartisan recommendation, which the President would then accept. Park‘s surprise shakeup on Nov. 2 appears to ignore this demand in favor of declaring her intent to do things her way without letting go of the reins.

a professor at Kookmin University

It could also be that the unilateral decision to go ahead with a reshuffle that would be expected to trigger fierce objections from politicians is intended less as a “fix” for Park’s current situation than as a ploy to turn the tide. As the investigation into Choi‘s government interference draws ever closer to Park, her aim may have been to use the responsible prime minister issue as a way of making his ratification the focus, instead of the Choi scandal.

“President Park’s choice of Prime Minister shows that nothing has charged in her approach or attitude toward governance,” said a prominent Saenuri Party lawmaker.

“There’s only one way to look at this, and that’s as an attempt to try to put the Choi Sun-sil situation behind her for now,” the lawmaker added.

Meanwhile, questions continue to be raised about who Park is “consulting” as she proceeds with her Blue House and Cabinet shakeups amid the ongoing Choi scandal. Ruling party insiders claim that former Chief of Staff Kim Ki-choon is responsible for the larger outline of the cleanup effort. Meeting reporters at an inaugural ceremony the same day for a promotion committee on projects to commemorate the centenary of former President Park Chung-hee’s birth, Kim answered the allegations by saying he had not been involved. He also responded to questions about interactions with the Blue House in the choice of Kim Byong-joon as a nominee for Prime Minister.

“There have been none whatsoever,” he said.

By Choi Hye-jung, staff reporter

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