On May 10, South Korea's new president, Yoon Seok-wook, officially took office and began his five-year term. However, just three days later, a senior official in his government resigned.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the South Korean presidential office issued a statement on May 13 saying that Kim Seong-hoi, the presidential secretary in charge of religious and multicultural affairs, would voluntarily resign. Previously, he had been criticized for his discriminatory statements against homosexuals and wartime comfort women victims.
"Secretary Kim has indicated that he will voluntarily resign to avoid negative effects on the president." The president's office statement said. This is the first time since the establishment of The Yin Xiyue government that an official at the level of secretary has resigned in the office of the president.
Yoon Seok-yue went to work for the first time at the Presidential Palace in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea, on May 11, officially opening the "Yongsan Era". However, in the face of internal controversy among many officials and external opposition parties, Yin Xiyue's presidential "honeymoon period" may be difficult to sweeten.
On May 11, 2022, local time, Seoul, South Korea, South Korean President Yoon Seok-yue left from home and drove to the Yongsan-gu office in Seoul City to work. Figure/IC photo
The presidential secretary's discriminatory remarks have sparked controversy
According to the Korea Herald, Kim Sung-il had just been appointed secretary of the South Korean presidential office, in charge of religious and multicultural affairs. This position was newly created to address issues of social discrimination and injustice.
Soon after, however, Kim Sung-ho's own discriminatory and hateful remarks were exposed by the Korean media. His latest apology also sparked a new round of controversy.
In June 2019, Kim Sung-hui reportedly posted on social media Facebook that he did not support homosexuality and called it "a mental illness." Because of this remark, he was banned by Facebook for a while.
In addition, in September of that year, he also described the Japanese colonial comfort women as "prostitutes" on Facebook, calling the compensation claims of the comfort women victims as "prostitutes". He was then silenced again for this remark.
In March 2021, Kim Sung-hui once again made hate speech against comfort women victims. He said at the time that half of the women of the Joseon Dynasty were in fact sex slaves, and that South Korea should first confront its own history before criticizing Japanese colonial misconduct. After these remarks were exposed, Jin Cheng would be criticized by many parties.
The President's Office in the South Korean Ministry of National Defense Building. Figure/IC photo
According to the Korea Times, Kim Sung-il posted on Facebook on Wednesday that he would "sincerely apologize" for past inappropriate remarks.
"I sincerely apologize for my previous remarks about sex slaves and homosexuality." Kim Sung-jong will say in the text. He also accused the media of losing justice and digging into his past history. However, he again stated that he did not support homosexuality, saying he still believed that homosexuality could be cured by some form of medical therapy, "just like smokers undergo smoking cessation treatment".
The "apology statement" once again sparked criticism, and many people demanded that Kim Sung-hui resign. Some netizens commented under Kim Sung-hui's latest statement, "Shouldn't you resign as soon as possible?" Don't influence the president."
The Korea Herald said Kim Sung-il's remarks suggested he was a loyal member of the conservative clique. South Korea is currently ruled by Yoon Seok-wook, a conservative from the conservative side, ending the past five years of progressive rule.
The new president, Yin Xiyue, has a bit of a headache
It was not only that Yin Xiyue, who had recently come to power, had a headache.
Yoon Jae-soon, another aide to Yoon Seok-yue and general secretary in charge of general affairs in the presidential palace, has also recently been embroiled in the controversy, according to the Korea Times. Yoon jae-soon faced sexual harassment charges during his tenure as prosecutor, for which he was disciplined twice.
In this regard, the South Korean presidential office responded on the 13th that there were discrepancies between the relevant reports and facts of Yin Zaishun, and "the facts are difficult to confirm." A spokesman for the Presidential Office also noted that Yoon was appointed presidential secretary because of his professional abilities, not his close relationship with the president.
It is reported that Yin Zaishun and Yin Xiyue are close. During Yoon Seok-yue's tenure as prosecutor, Yoon served as his assistant.
South Korea's MBC television reported that the main opposition party, the Common Democratic Party, demanded the immediate removal of President Yoon Seok-yue, saying that Yoon Seok-wook knew of Yoon Jae-soon's sexual harassment but deliberately concealed it. "If sexual harassment is not condoned, how can a perpetrator of sexual harassment be appointed as the secretary in charge of the president's daily life?"
On May 9, 2022, local time, Seoul, South Korea, the Office Building of the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan-gu, hung a huge banner and lit it up that night to welcome the inauguration ceremony of the new President Yin Xiyue on the 10th. Figure/IC photo
In addition to the controversy surrounding the staff, Yin Xiyue was also constrained by the progressive faction on the issue of forming a cabinet.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Yoon Seok-yue appointed three cabinet ministers on May 13, including the Minister of Unification, the Minister of Culture and the Minister of Land. So far, Yin Xiyue has completed the appointment of 14 positions in 18 cabinet ministers.
However, with the opposition Common Democratic Party (DPJ) holding a majority of the 300 seats in the National Assembly, Yoon Seok-yue's process of forming a cabinet has faltered, especially with regard to the appointment of prime minister.
Previously, Yoon Seok-wook nominated Han Duck-soo, who had served as Minister of Finance and Economy and South Korea's ambassador to the United States, to the post of Prime Minister, but the National Assembly objected to the controversy over Han Deok-so. In addition, the nomination of 4 ministers was blocked.
According to the regulations, all Cabinet nominees in South Korea are required to be heard by congress, but only the nomination of the prime minister must be voted by the national assembly.
Not only that, less than a month after taking office, Yin Xiyue will usher in a "big test". South Korea will reportedly hold local elections on June 1, during which there will also be a by-election for members of Parliament. This was Yoon Seok-yue's first nationwide campaign since he took office, and was called by South Korean media as the "extended battle for the presidential election."
The Korea Herald pointed out that although Yoon Seok-yue from the National Forces Party won the general election in March this year, his vote share was less than 1% different from that of Lee Jae-myung, a candidate from the Common Democratic Party, adding a lot of uncertainty to the results of the local elections in June.
On March 10, 2022, local time, Seoul, South Korea, South Korea's then-ruling Party of the Common Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung admitted defeat and delivered a speech. Figure/IC photo
According to the analysis, the National Forces Party regards the local election as an "election that must be won" so that Yin Xiyue's government can smoothly advance its governance. The Common Democratic Party, which had just lost the presidential election, saw the local election as an important opportunity to "make a comeback." Lee reportedly announced tomorrow that he would run in a by-election for members of Parliament in June.
On May 13, the registration of candidates for local elections in South Korea ended. On May 19, South Korea will begin a 13-day election period, officially starting another "war between the government and the opposition".
Beijing News reporter Xie Lian
Edited by Chen Jing, proofread by Wu Xingfa