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Democratic Party Nominates Choi Gil-soo as Presidential Special Inspector Candidate
🇰🇷 South Korea /Elections & Politics

Democratic Party Nominates Choi Gil-soo as Presidential Special Inspector Candidate

From Dong-A Ilbo · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • The Democratic Party has nominated lawyer Choi Gil-soo as its candidate for the Presidential Special Inspector.
  • The position has been vacant for nearly 10 years since the resignation of the first inspector in 2016.
  • The party aims to complete the nomination process before the National Assembly's regular session in September.

South Korea's Democratic Party has put forward lawyer Choi Gil-soo as its nominee for the crucial role of Presidential Special Inspector. This nomination aims to fill a significant vacancy that has persisted for nearly a decade, since the departure of the inaugural inspector, Lee Suk-soo, in 2016.

For the past 10 years, this position has been vacant since the resignation of the first special inspector, Lee Suk-soo, in 2016. Our government has expressed its intention to appoint someone, but the system has been effectively stalled because the National Assembly has not recommended a candidate.

— Han Byung-do, Acting Leader and Floor Leader of the Democratic PartyExplaining the long-standing vacancy of the Special Inspector position.

Han Byung-do, the party's acting leader and floor leader, highlighted the prolonged absence of a special inspector, stating that the system has been effectively stalled due to the lack of a candidate recommendation from the National Assembly. He emphasized President Lee Jae-myung's commitment to addressing this vacuum, signaling a determination to enhance governmental transparency through institutional means rather than mere rhetoric.

Choi Gil-soo is not a new name in the context of special inspector nominations. He was previously recommended for the position by the Bareunmirae Party during negotiations for a negotiation bloc in 2019. Han Byung-do expressed confidence in Choi's suitability, describing him as an individual who can independently carry out the duties of the special inspector from a public perspective, unswayed by political affiliations.

President Lee Jae-myung is determined not to let this vacuum continue any longer. The Democratic Party will responsibly respond to the President's decision to prove the transparency of power not through words but through systems.

— Han Byung-do, Acting Leader and Floor Leader of the Democratic PartyHighlighting the President's commitment to filling the role.

The Democratic Party has set a target to finalize the parliamentary recommendation process for the special inspector before the National Assembly convenes for its regular session in September. In contrast, the People Power Party had previously selected prosecutor-turned-lawyer Kang Ji-sik as their nominee for the opposition's share of the special inspector role back in April.

We have judged him to be the right person to independently perform the duties of the special inspector from the perspective of the public, without being biased toward any political faction.

— Han Byung-do, Acting Leader and Floor Leader of the Democratic PartyJustifying the nomination of Choi Gil-soo.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Dong-A Ilbo in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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