Han Byung-do vows to finish confirmation hearings before Chuseok and fight personal attacks

South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party says it will move quickly on two fronts: supporting a newly broadened cabinet and discussing closer ties with progressive parties.

“

We will speed up the discussions much more actively, using this reshuffle as an opportunity.

Party leader Kim Min-seok said the reshuffle created an opportunity to accelerate talks with parties including the Social Democratic Party, the Progressive Party and the Basic Income Party. President Lee Jae Myung had nominated Rebuilding Korea Party lawmaker Lee Hae-min as senior secretary for future artificial intelligence planning and Basic Income Party lawmaker Yong Hye-in as candidate for gender equality minister.

Kim said the nominees represented a younger and more diverse political spectrum. He pledged support so that candidates from the progressive reform camp could settle into government and pursue both their personal political convictions and the administration’s policies.

“

No one in the party, including me, can predict at this point whether this will become an alliance or a merger.

On relations with the Rebuilding Korea Party, Kim cautioned that no one in the party could predict whether cooperation would lead to an alliance or a merger. He urged party leaders and lawmakers, including himself, to avoid expressing personal views and leave the matter to the party’s Integration Promotion Committee. He also asked the Rebuilding Korea Party to appoint a channel for talks with Democratic lawmaker Lee Hae-sik. The committee is led by Park Beom-gye, with Lee Hae-sik heading its Rebuilding Korea Party alliance division.

“

We will swiftly complete the confirmation hearings for state council members before the Chuseok holiday so that there is not a single moment of a gap in the Lee Jae Myung government’s administration.

Floor leader Han Byung-do separately said the party would complete confirmation hearings for cabinet ministers before the Chuseok holiday to avoid any interruption in the Lee administration’s work. He said nominees would face rigorous scrutiny of their qualifications, while the party would respond firmly to what he described as opposition efforts to pry into personal matters and conduct defamatory political campaigns.

“

We will thoroughly verify the abilities and qualifications of public office candidates from the public’s perspective, but respond firmly to the opposition’s personal attacks and defamatory political operations.