Lee Jae-myung Government, Seeking Breakthrough Through Appointments?

An analysis suggests that there was an intentional scenario behind the temporal separation of Policy Chief Kim Yong-beom's resignation and the appointment of six ministers. This is interpreted as a strategic decision to disperse and dilute critical public opinion that would focus on the minister appointments. Lee Jun-woo, media spokesperson for the People Power Party, commented, "Let me just say briefly, this was already planned. That's how it looks to me. They planned a scenario," claiming the appointments were premeditated.

The Lee Jae-myung government's retention of the foreign and unification ministers has been criticized as evidence of a lack of foreign and security philosophy. Reshuffling ministers in only six of the 18 ministries while retaining the foreign and unification ministers is analyzed as a result of being unable to decide between realist and idealist approaches. Spokesperson Lee Jun-woo said, "I think this clearly shows that the personnel appointments were made based on President Lee Jae-myung's foreign and security line, or rather, his domestic security line."

The biggest reason for Unification Minister Jeong Dong-young's retention is said to be that he is currently the only cabinet member with experience meeting Kim Jong-un. Although there were rumors he initially hoped for the Foreign Minister position, his retention is seen as a symbolic card to create a 'mood of reconciliation' in future North Korea-U.S. dialogues or inter-Korean relations. Spokesperson Lee Jun-woo explained, "The biggest advantage Jeong Dong-young has is that among the 18 current cabinet ministers, he is the only one who has met Kim Jong-un of North Korea."

The retention of Unification Minister Jeong Dong-young suggests the continuation of conciliatory policies towards North Korea, such as the 'peaceful two-state theory' and the 'restoration of the September 19 military agreement.' These policies are criticized for making it difficult to effectively respond to provocations like North Korea's disclosure of its uranium enrichment facility. Additionally, criticism arose that Minister Jeong Dong-young's perception of North Korea carries controversy, as he refers to North Korea as 'Joseon' rather than 'main enemy.' The host mentioned, "Jeong Dong-young has pursued conciliatory policies towards North Korea, such as the peaceful two-state theory and the restoration of the September 19 military agreement. But there have been many problems with this, right?"

Amid discussions about the possibility of North Korea-U.S. dialogue at the APEC Summit in November, it has been claimed that former President Trump proposed a meeting with Kim Jong-un. Spokesperson Lee Jun-woo stated, "Trump said, 'I will participate in APEC, so let's meet Kim Jong-un.' And Trump himself claims that Kim Jong-un responded positively there." The analysis suggests that the Lee Jae-myung government is laying a groundwork to leverage this APEC meeting to secure its standing in the international diplomatic arena.

Unification Minister Jeong Dong-young's retention is interpreted as a move by the Lee Jae-myung government to continue its conciliatory approach towards North Korea. Given that Minister Jeong Dong-young's pro-North Korea stance aligns with Kim Yo-jong's policy, the analysis suggests that the Lee Jae-myung government retained Jeong Dong-young as a card for a meeting with Kim Jong-un during a visit to China. Considering Kim Jong-un's tendency to avoid multilateral diplomacy, the possibility of a one-on-one individual meeting is raised. Spokesperson Lee Jun-woo pointed out, "Wouldn't North Korea like it if Unification Minister Jeong Dong-young was kept by their side?"

Kim Jong-un generally prefers one-on-one diplomacy over multilateral diplomacy. An analysis suggests that the Lee Jae-myung government has a political objective to utilize Kim Jong-un's diplomatic style to build an image of himself as the president who created inter-Korean peace. Spokesperson Lee Jun-woo explained, "Kim Jong-un basically doesn't do multilateral diplomacy. He has a diplomatic policy of doing things one-on-one."

From former President Trump's perspective, the dismissal of Unification Minister Jeong Dong-young would be justifiable. This is because Minister Jeong Dong-young takes a conciliatory stance towards North Korea that conflicts with U.S. policy. However, it is analyzed that the Lee Jae-myung government prioritized a meeting with Kim Jong-un over relations with the U.S., thus retaining Minister Jeong Dong-young instead of dismissing him. Spokesperson Lee Jun-woo said, "From Trump's standpoint, Jeong Dong-young should be immediately dismissed. Because he is a Unification Minister who is taking a hostile stance and keeping his distance."

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun's retention is somewhat positively evaluated by the People Power Party, as he is a realist who emphasizes the ROK-US alliance. However, the fundamental problem is pointed out as the Lee Jae-myung government's overall diplomatic direction not changing, rather than the presence of Minister Cho alone. Criticism suggests there is confusion within the Lee Jae-myung government's diplomatic line and a failure to consistently coordinate policies. Spokesperson Lee Jun-woo commented, "Cho Hyun is a realist. And he takes a stance that highly values the ROK-US alliance. So from the People Power Party's perspective, isn't it better to have Foreign Minister Cho Hyun?"

The conflict between Unification Minister Jeong Dong-young's pro-North Korea stance and Foreign Minister Cho Hyun's realist approach could lead to serious confusion in South Korean diplomacy. Despite President Lee Jae-myung publicly curbing Minister Jeong Dong-young's pro-North Korea actions by saying "cautious review is needed," his retention shows discord within the diplomatic line. This public disagreement could provide an excuse for North Korea and cause confusion for the U.S., thereby lowering the credibility of Korean diplomacy in the international community. Spokesperson Lee Jun-woo said, "When Minister Jeong Dong-young took various pro-North Korea actions, what did Lee Jae-myung say? He publicly applied the brakes, saying a cautious review was needed."

While the Democratic Party assessed this cabinet reshuffle as a pragmatic deployment of talent emphasizing 'expertise and execution,' the People Power Party refuted this, labeling it 'shielding expertise' and 'self-destructive appointments due to falling approval ratings.' Spokesperson Lee Jun-woo quipped, "What kind of expertise? Shielding expertise. It makes sense to say this is a deployment of talent that prioritizes execution due to falling approval ratings."

The Democratic Party is criticized for employing a 'shielding expert' personnel strategy to defend against judicial risks, such as appointing the head of a motion to dismiss group as Minister of Justice. This is interpreted as an attempt to resolve legal issues for party members through means such as abolishing investigative powers and dismissing charges.

The Democratic Party's approval rating has fallen to the 30% range in recent Realmeter surveys, indicating a serious decline. Spokesperson Lee Jun-woo said, "What about execution? The fall in approval ratings is serious. It was in the 30% range based on Realmeter yesterday." The Democratic Party is analyzed to be putting forward personnel with 'shielding expertise' and 'execution' to overcome this crisis.

Allegations of a 'family income party' arose when it became known that Representative Yong Hye-in's husband was working as a key party official for the Basic Income Party. Rep. Yong previously expressed concerns about her husband's parental leave and career breaks on broadcast, but the problem is that her husband was actually working for a party where she effectively served as chairperson. This raised the possibility that government subsidies may have been misused as spousal income, and transparency in financial expenditure will likely need to be verified during future confirmation hearings. The husband's monopolization of party positions and his experience as an aide are also subjects of controversy.

The Democratic Party is moving to directly set its agenda by launching its own broadcasting platform, 'Minju TV'. This aims to avoid situations where the party's policies or messages are edited or interpreted differently by traditional media, and instead deliver its own voice directly. Representative Kim Min-seok and others are appearing to lead the agenda-setting. Spokesperson Lee Jun-woo explained, "Agenda setting. So there would be various policies and messages from the Democratic Party. But because they were constantly being edited or interpreted externally and sent out..."

The launch of 'Minju TV' is also interpreted as an attempt by the Democratic Party to address dissatisfaction with Kim Eo-jun's broadcast and cut its dependence. Spokesperson Lee Jun-woo said, "If I try to do something, I have to be mindful of Kim Eo-jun, and Kim Eo-jun's broadcast has to go out no matter what, so it reached a point where they decided to break free from that cycle." A movement to secure independent agenda-setting leadership within the Democratic Party is being detected.

Immediately after the Democratic Party's own broadcast 'Minju TV' (MinT) began, its number of concurrent viewers showed a large gap compared to Kim Eo-jun's broadcast. 'Minju TV' recorded about 50,000 concurrent viewers, while Kim Eo-jun's broadcast recorded about 210,000. Despite 'Minju TV' starting its broadcast five minutes earlier than Kim Eo-jun's, it showed an overwhelming difference, leading to the analysis that 'Minju TV' suffered a complete defeat in its first evaluation. Spokesperson Lee Jun-woo commented, "The number of concurrent viewers was about 210,000 for Kim Eo-jun and only about 50,000 for MinT, which is about 1/4, so the assessment today is that MinT was completely defeated."

Representative Kim Min-seok is analyzed to be pursuing a long-term political strategy to build an image as a future presidential candidate by actively engaging in activities such as appearing on 'Minju TV' and continuously communicating with party supporters. This has two objectives: to create a dynamic where Kim Min-seok is the only presidential contender within the party, and to solidify his position as a substantive presidential candidate. Spokesperson Lee Jun-woo explained, "Those two objectives are to create a dynamic where there is no presidential candidate in our party other than Kim Min-seok."