Jeong Jom-sik, floor leader of the main opposition People Power Party, sharply criticized President Lee Jae-myung's nomination of attorney Choi Gil-soo as special inspector, calling the Presidential Office's description of the nominee "laughable." The People Power Party signaled that it would put the nominee through intense vetting at his confirmation hearing.
In a statement on the 24th, Jeong said: "It is presumably the case that the Democratic Party, out of respect for the president's appointment authority, recommended nominee Choi Gil-soo after prior consultation with the president and an in-person briefing." He was referring to the Presidential Office's characterization of Choi as "a neutral figure not leaning toward any particular party or camp," which he said "draws a wry laugh."
The remark is seen as targeting the ruling party's earlier criticism that Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-de had nominated Supreme Court justice candidates without prior consultation with the president.
"It is regrettable that a figure recommended by the People Power Party, one who was not the subject of prior consultation with the president, was not nominated," Jeong said. "The People Power Party will thoroughly vet nominee Choi Gil-soo at the confirmation hearing."
Park Sung-hoon, chief spokesperson for the People Power Party, also issued a statement. "We give the president credit for reestablishing the principle that the president, the president's family and the core of power must all be subject to oversight without exception," he said. "But when we actually lifted the lid, the concerns outweighed the expectations."
"Even though there were candidates recommended by the People Power Party and the Korean Bar Association, President Lee ultimately chose attorney Choi Gil-soo, who was recommended by the ruling Democratic Party," Park said. He added that this amounted to placing a figure recommended by the ruling party that props up the president in a post created to monitor the power of the president and those around him.
"The very lifeblood of a special inspector is one thing alone: independence from power," Park said. "Because he starts out with the label of 'ruling party recommendation,' nominee Choi must prove his political neutrality and independence not with words but with actions."
"A 'ruling party recommendation' must not become a license for 'reading the wishes of those in power,'" Park said. "The special inspector's office must never become another annex of the Presidential Office, nor a shield that covers up wrongdoing by the administration."
"If President Lee thinks that merely nominating a special inspector candidate will earn him a medal as a 'power-watchdog president,' that is a grave misconception," Park added. "The real test of whether he meant it when he said 'I will be the first to be watched' begins now."
