The National Assembly is to vote Monday on a motion to endorse Rep. Lee Wan-koo as new prime minister amid the main opposition’s continued disapproval of the nominee, who has been plagued by allegations of draft dodging, plagiarism, real estate speculation and other misdeeds.
The ruling Saenuri Party vowed to approve Lee’s nomination during Monday’s plenary parliamentary session, raising the possibility that the majority party will railroad the motion despite vehement objections from the New Politics Alliance for Democracy.
The Saenuri Party argued the partisan bickering over Lee would only create a “vacuum in state affairs” at a time when the Assembly should focus its legislative attention on revitalizing the sluggish economy.
“The biggest reason why we are making all-out efforts (to approve Lee) is that we are concerned about the possible vacuum in state affairs,” said Saenuri Party spokesperson Min Hyun-joo. “We are calling for the opposition’s cooperation in focusing our energy on improving people’s livelihoods.”
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| Lee Wan-koo |
However, the NPAD renewed its calls for Lee to withdraw his nomination, warning that should the ruling party unilaterally approve Lee, it would face a backlash that would “leave the new premier in a vegetative state” and complicate the procedures to approve Supreme Court Justice-designate Park Sang-ok.
The rival parties agreed last week to delay the Assembly’s full-house session ― initially set for last Thursday ― to Monday as they had failed to narrow their differences over Lee’s nomination.
But later, the NPAD called for a public opinion poll on the nomination, further escalating the partisan dispute. The Saenuri Party dismissed the proposal as a move to ignore the legislature’s role to endorse the nomination of the government’s No. 2 post.
The Saenuri Party currently holds 158 seats in the 295-strong parliament, meaning the party could unilaterally approve the nomination even if NPAD lawmakers boycotted Monday’s full-house vote. Should Lee be approved only by the majority party, it would be the first such case since Lee Young-deok was unilaterally endorsed as prime minister in 1994.
It may not be an easy decision for the Saenuri Party to press for unilateral approval given that it could suffer a severe backlash from the NPAD at a time when it has piles of legislative issues which require cooperation with the main opposition, analysts said.
The ruling party hopes to pass the motion quickly as public opinion about Lee has deteriorated due to the NPAD’s offensive. After this week’s Lunar New Year holiday, a time when family gatherings play a crucial role in shaping public opinion, public sentiment could worsen, observers say.
The NPAD is expected to hold a general meeting of its lawmakers on Monday morning to decide how to demonstrate its strong opposition to Lee’s nomination without any political repercussions.
Observers say NPAD lawmakers are likely to boycott the plenary session or refuse to join the vote since if any of them were to vote in favor of Lee, it could deal a blow to the authority of its new leader Moon Jae-in.
Cheong Wa Dae has been anxiously watching the developments concerning Lee’s parliamentary confirmation, as it could face more criticism of a “poor” personnel vetting system should he fail to pass parliamentary scrutiny.
Two prime minister designates have so far withdrawn their nominations over alleged past wrongdoings ― the reason why the current Prime Minister Chung Hong-won remains in office although he has offered to resign several times.
By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)
