The collapse of Yong Hye-in's nomination as gender equality and family minister reflects a failure of personnel vetting and an absence of communication between the presidential office and the ruling party, critics said. Controversies surfaced almost immediately after her nomination — over holding a ministerial post while serving as a proportional-representation lawmaker, and over the management of the Basic Income Party — yet none were screened out in advance, and the ruling bloc's response fell short. With the ruling party belatedly moving to resolve her status, questions are mounting over both the presidential office's vetting and whether it coordinated properly with the party beforehand.
According to political sources on the 13th, the number of ministerial nominees who failed to win appointment amid controversy since the launch of the Lee Jae-myung administration has risen to four. Yong follows education minister nominee Lee Jin-sook, gender equality and family minister nominee Kang Sun-woo and budget and planning minister nominee Lee Hye-hoon. At a press conference the same day, Yong withdrew from the nomination, saying: "I am grateful to President Lee Jae-myung for trusting me with such an important task, and I am sorry that I could not fulfill that duty."
Yong had initially signaled a firm intention to rebut each of the allegations against her point by point and to go through a confirmation hearing, but ultimately did not see the process through. At a press conference three days earlier, on the 10th, she declared she would push ahead, saying of the dual-role controversy that "a lawmaker serving concurrently as a cabinet member is a principle permitted by law." The presidential office had likewise maintained a stance of "waiting to see how the hearing goes."
After that press conference, however, the mood within the ruling bloc shifted sharply. Beyond the dual-role question, allegations that the Basic Income Party had been turned into a personal vehicle came to the fore, along with claims that sexual discrimination had been tolerated within an informal internal group known as the "under organization." Concerns about the nominee's approach to communication also surfaced once it emerged that she had gone ahead with the press conference without coordinating with either the presidential office or the Democratic Party of Korea. One first-term Democratic Party lawmaker said: "In explaining only her own position, the nominee arguably amplified the controversy. Responding independently on a matter that required coordination between the party and the government was inevitably a burden."
Within the Democratic Party, the view that Yong could no longer be shielded spread quickly. With the president's approval rating trending lower, concern grew that a cabinet reshuffle carried out to secure momentum for governing could instead accelerate defections among core supporters. Over the weekend, sentiment within the ruling bloc hardened around the need to settle Yong's status, and the matter was resolved when she accepted Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok's recommendation that she step down voluntarily. Kang Yu-jung, chief spokesperson for the presidential office, said in a statement that "we respect Yong's decision," adding that "we see this as a decision she made on her own to reduce the burden on state affairs and people's livelihoods."
Yong's withdrawal appears certain to draw criticism of the Lee administration's personnel vetting system. The presidential office's statement that it would "spare no effort in vetting and selection to make appointments that meet public expectations" is being read as an acknowledgment that this appointment did not meet those expectations, and as a signal that stricter standards will be applied more cautiously in choosing a successor.
A ruling bloc official said: "Because the opposition was certain to intensify its attacks over the vetting failure once Yong resigned, it was a difficult decision for both the presidential office and Yong herself. Even so, I understand the judgment was that, given the failure to build genuine public support for the nominee, there was no choice but to accept the resignation."
The lack of communication between the presidential office's personnel officials and the ruling party is also being cited as a problem. Coordination between the party and the government was insufficient not only in pre-nomination vetting but also in handling the controversies that followed. Yong had made clear from the moment of her nomination that she intended to keep her proportional-representation seat, and the disputes surrounding the Basic Income Party were already public knowledge. If the party and the presidential office failed to catch these issues, it points to a hole in the vetting process; if they nominated her knowing them, it points to a failure of political judgment, critics say. If appointments continue to be made without sufficient coordination with the ruling party, with political damage control coming only after a controversy erupts, public trust in the entire personnel process will be hard to restore, they said.
Democratic Party lawmaker Park Jie-won wrote on Facebook the same day: "Personnel decisions require care in recommendation and selection, but vetting must also be thorough." He added: "If all the blame is directed at the president, that is the responsibility of the personnel line."
Meanwhile, within the presidential office, there has reportedly been no change in the position that justice minister nominee Kim Seung-won should proceed to a confirmation hearing. The assessment is that there is no particular reason for him to be dropped, given that allegations raised by the opposition over lobbying for approval of a COVID-19 treatment clinical trial were found to raise no legal problem, and barring new evidence proving a quid pro quo. The Democratic Party has also taken a firm defensive posture on Kim, unlike with Yong, and the presidential office is seen as seeking to hold the same line as the ruling party.
