Yoon replaces defense, culture, gender equality ministers

From left, Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister nominee Yoo In-chon, Gender Equality and Family Minister nominee Kim Haeng and Defense Minister nominee Shin Won-sik attend a press briefing at the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Wednesday.

Reshuffle signals president's 'hard-right tilt'

By Nam Hyun-woo

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday named ruling People Power Party (PPP) lawmaker Shin Won-sik, former culture minister Yoo In-chon and former ruling party emergency committee member Kim Haeng as new defense, culture and family ministers, respectively.

The nominees are familiar faces in Korean politics, with Shin and Yu having the reputations of hardline conservatives. Pundits are saying this is in line with the conservative wing of Yoon, who has been stressing ideology and anti-communism ideas in recent public remarks.

Presidential Chief of Staff Kim Dae-ki announced the Cabinet member reshuffle during a press briefing.

"Including the head of the defense ministry's National Defense Policy Planning Bureau and deputy chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he holds abundant experience in national defense policy and operations, thus enhancing the national defense capability in the face of North Korea's nuclear and missile threats," Chief of Staff Kim said.

People Power Party Rep. Shin Won-sik leaves his office at the National Assembly on Yeouido, Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap

Shin will be replacing Lee Jong-sup, who expressed an intention to resign a day earlier in order to disrupt the opposition's attempt to impeach him over allegations that he used influence on an initial probe of the Marine Corps regarding the death of a marine during a search-and-rescue operation in July.

Kim said, however, that the case was not considered when deliberating about the replacement of the defense minister, and the resignation will not be accepted because Yoon has already named his successor.

Shin is a retired three-star general and former deputy chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who has been spending most of his military career in key posts. During his discharge ceremony in 2016, Shin said the military should prepare for "unification through northern advancement," meaning unification through toppling the North Korean regime.

After becoming a lawmaker during the previous general election in 2020, Shin has shown his presence in military-related issues, including the marine's death. He criticized a former Marine Corps investigation team leader, who claimed that the defense ministry exerted influence to meddle in the investigation of the death, saying "he is determined to pursue the path of a third-rate, low-quality politician."

Shin is also one of the first people who triggered the ongoing controversies over assessing independence fighter Hong Beom-do, who was involved with the Soviet Communist Party, spearheading campaigns that resulted in Hong's bust being removed from the Korean Military Academy.

Against this background, conservative Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo criticized the nomination of Shin, writing on his Facebook page that "sending a party-based politician to the position, which requires a high degree of political neutrality, raises concerns about potential attacks from opposing parties, which could undermine their political impartiality."

Shin told reporters that there are challenges in the external and internal national security environment, and he will make "soldier-like soldiers and a military-like military."

President Yoon Suk Yeol and former culture minister Yoo In-chon pose for a photo after Yoon appointed him as a special presidential adviser for culture and sports at the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, July 7. Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hoo

Nominee Yoo will be replacing culture minister Park Bo-gyoon. The culture ministry has been criticized by the presidential office for its "passive manners in pursuing the Yoon administration's national tasks."

Yoo, who is now a special presidential adviser for culture and sports, is known as a TV and stage actor and served as culture minister from 2008 to 2011 during the previous conservative Lee Myung-bak administration.

"He is the right candidate who can lead the expansion of Korean culture, based on his understanding of the culture and art industries and previous experience of serving as the culture minister," Chief of Staff Kim said.

Yoo established a positive reputation for his understanding of the culture industry. But it was tarnished during a National Assembly audit in October 2008 when he used profanity toward photographers.

Also in 2008, he was mired in controversy after urging the heads of government organizations under the culture ministry appointed during the previous liberal administration to resign. It was also revealed in 2017 that the National Intelligence Service had blacklisted left-leaning cultural figures and disadvantaged them in various ways during Yoo's tenure as the culture minister.

People Power Party emergency committee member Kim Haeng speaks during a party meeting at the National Assembly on Yeouido, Seoul, Sept. 14, 2022. Korea Times photo by Oh Dae-keun

Kim Haeng will be replacing gender equality and family minister Kim Hyun-sook, who is facing scrutiny over the ministry's mishandling of the quadrennial Jamboree event and her remarks where she dodged responsibility for the fiasco.

Kim Haeng served as former presidential spokesperson during the conservative Park Geun-hye administration and head of the Korea Gender Equality Education Promotion Center under the gender equality ministry.

"The fresh nominees are seen as a selection that fits correctly into President Yoon's recent philosophy of handling state affairs," said Park Sang-byeong, a professor at Inha University's Graduate School of Policy Science.

"Of the nominees, Shin and Yoo are known for their hard-right stance on state affairs, and they stood up against the previous liberal Moon Jae-in administration. It seems that the president thinks their previous experiences of serving at public posts ― former general-turned-lawmaker and culture minister ― show that they will be good at their jobs and increase the chance of their vetting process at the National Assembly going relatively smooth."

Many politicians and pundits view that the nominations represent a more conservative swing by President Yoon. In his Aug. 15 National Liberation Day speech, Yoon slammed "anti-state totalitarian communists" and moved on to stress that "ideology is the most important value that a country should seek" during an annual seminar of the PPP.

"Previously, Yoon was viewed as a figure who is keeping distances from the conventional ideology-based political frame, because he had no political background before his presidency and had no political string attached to him," Park said. "However, he is now increasingly raising voices for the conservative idea. And the nominees are the perfect fit for Yoon's recent hard-right tilt, regardless of their correctness."