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[Editorial] Full commitment required
Ministers-designate should focus on office, not reelection
By Korea HeraldPublished : March 10, 2015 - 19:07
Saenuri Party Rep. Yoo Ki-june, the nominee for oceans and fisheries minister, and Rep. Yoo Il-ho, the minister-designate for land, infrastructure and transport, showed during their confirmation hearings Monday that they do not intend to give up running for reelection in next year’s general election.
Grilled by the opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy legislators over whether they plan to seek reelection, the two ministers-designate dodged the question, refusing to give a straightforward reply. Yoo Ki-june said that it would be inappropriate to comment on it since the president holds the power of appointment. Yoo Il-ho, on the other hand, admitted that he had not decided whether he would run for a seat next year and said that if President Park Geun-hye desires, he would remain in the Cabinet.
The two Yoos’ reelection ambitions are a contentious issue as they would be required to resign from their ministerial positions in January 2016 if they were to run for National Assembly seats in April 2016. All candidates running for parliamentary seats must resign from public office at least 90 days before the election date. Should they decide to run for reelection, the two ministers-designate would have just 10 months in office.
Ten months would hardly be sufficient time for Yu Ki-june to fix things at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries in the aftermath of last April’s Sewol ferry disaster that claimed more than 300 lives. Yoo Il-ho will need to somehow improve the real estate market and deal with the worsening housing problem brought on by soaring rents. Whether they can accomplish this in 10 short months is doubtful.
If the two lawmakers aim to use their ministerial experience to boost their chances of reelection, the people will be ill served. If that were the case, they should have declined the nomination.
As Park has repeatedly said, this is a crucial year for the administration and for the country as it embarks on several long-needed reforms. Not only the two ministers-designate but Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo and the three other Cabinet ministers who have retained the National Assembly seats should be fully committed to their work at hand, not their reelection prospects.
Grilled by the opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy legislators over whether they plan to seek reelection, the two ministers-designate dodged the question, refusing to give a straightforward reply. Yoo Ki-june said that it would be inappropriate to comment on it since the president holds the power of appointment. Yoo Il-ho, on the other hand, admitted that he had not decided whether he would run for a seat next year and said that if President Park Geun-hye desires, he would remain in the Cabinet.
The two Yoos’ reelection ambitions are a contentious issue as they would be required to resign from their ministerial positions in January 2016 if they were to run for National Assembly seats in April 2016. All candidates running for parliamentary seats must resign from public office at least 90 days before the election date. Should they decide to run for reelection, the two ministers-designate would have just 10 months in office.
Ten months would hardly be sufficient time for Yu Ki-june to fix things at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries in the aftermath of last April’s Sewol ferry disaster that claimed more than 300 lives. Yoo Il-ho will need to somehow improve the real estate market and deal with the worsening housing problem brought on by soaring rents. Whether they can accomplish this in 10 short months is doubtful.
If the two lawmakers aim to use their ministerial experience to boost their chances of reelection, the people will be ill served. If that were the case, they should have declined the nomination.
As Park has repeatedly said, this is a crucial year for the administration and for the country as it embarks on several long-needed reforms. Not only the two ministers-designate but Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo and the three other Cabinet ministers who have retained the National Assembly seats should be fully committed to their work at hand, not their reelection prospects.
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Articles by Korea Herald
