President Lee Jae Myung on Sunday pulled Lee Jin-sook's nomination to become Education Minister in an unconventional fashion for South Korea's politics, Woo Sang-ho, Lee's senior secretary for political affairs, said in a briefing Sunday.
Lee Jin-sook, who became the first minister nominee to have dropped out under the new administration, was one of the liberal president's picks for inaugural Cabinet members.
But the 65-year-old has been embroiled in allegations related to academic plagiarism and excessive spending on her children's education overseas, which allegedly involved her violation of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
"After contemplation, President Lee decided to withdraw his nomination of Lee Jin-sook as the Education Minister," Woo told reporters.
Woo said he had briefed the president about the controversies and public views regarding Cabinet nominees, including the embattled Education Minister nominee, after the president held a closed-door meeting Saturday with floor leaders of rival parties. the the meeting, main opposition whip Rep. Song Eon-seog demanded that the president cancel at least two of his minister nominations.
Woo added that the president's decision came after serious contemplation on Sunday afternoon, without further elaborating on how he reached his conclusion.
A president's withdrawal is seen as a rare move in South Korea's politics, as most of South Korea's ministerial nominees have voluntarily withdrawn from their positions before the presidential office made any announcement. A notable exception was Cho Dong-ho, who was nominated as the Science Minister in 2019 by former President Moon Jae-in, but his nomination was canceled.
However, Lee's decision Sunday translates into his possible greenlight on another controversial Gender Minister nominee, Rep. Kang Sun-woo of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea.
Woo confirmed Lee did not withdraw his nomination of Kang, without providing a reason. Kang is alleged to have abused her authority by asking her secretaries to do her personal chores and by making false statements at the hearing to conceal wrongdoing
Meanwhile, Woo also confirmed a news report on Sunday that National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac was flying to Washington for talks with undisclosed government officials there. Woo added Wi's trip "is not the last one" before the proposed Aug. 1 deadline for the US tariff hike on South Korean imports and will take place "any time he finds it necessary."
consnow@heraldcorp.com
