Controversy Erupts as President Stands Firm on Gender Minister Nominee Kang Sun-woo

A senior presidential aide stated Monday that he believes the leadership of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea significantly influenced President Lee Jae Myung’s decision to proceed with the appointment of Gender Minister nominee Kang Sun-woo.

This statement came a day after Lee decided to withdraw his nomination of Lee Jin-sook to head the Education Ministry due to an academic plagiarism scandal, while opting to retain Kang’s nomination. The two-term Democratic Party lawmaker and gender minister nominee has faced public backlash over workplace abuse allegations involving former parliamentary aides.

“The decision was made after considering various factors,” Woo Sang-ho, senior presidential secretary for political affairs, said in a morning radio interview with Christian Broadcasting System. “However, regarding nominee Kang, it appears that the Democratic Party’s opinions have had the most significant impact on President Lee’s current decision.”

Woo did not specify the opinions expressed by the ruling party leadership in their apparent support for Kang. However, a day after Kang’s parliamentary confirmation hearing on July 14, Democratic Party Floor Leader Kim Byung-kee stated that the nominee’s explanations for the allegations were “sufficiently justified,” expressing regret over related criticisms.

The senior presidential aide also dismissed the possibility of Lee Jae Myung withdrawing Kang’s nomination in the coming days, stating that related announcements had been made the previous day because the president had made up his mind. “The announcements were made yesterday because President Lee intends to appoint Kang,” he said.

On Sunday, Woo confirmed Kang’s appointment during a press briefing. He responded affirmatively to a reporter’s question asking if the presidential office’s decision not to announce Kang’s withdrawal meant her eventual appointment as gender minister.

He explained that several allegations against Kang had been “resolved” during her parliamentary confirmation hearing last week. Woo added that while Lee Jae Myung did not specifically explain his reasoning behind the decision to proceed with Kang’s appointment, he hoped “the public would understand that multiple factors were considered.”

The president is expected to request that the National Assembly reconsider and adopt Kang’s personnel hearing report in the coming days. Last week, rival parties failed to agree on adopting Kang’s personnel hearing report, a mandatory step in a Cabinet nomination. However, although Cabinet ministers must undergo a parliamentary confirmation hearing, their appointment by the president does not require the Assembly’s approval.

Kang was nominated as gender minister by Lee Jae Myung on June 23 but has since faced accusations of mistreating staff members in her legislative office in recent years.

According to reports, Kang allegedly replaced staff members 46 times over just five years and made demands outside their legislative support duties, such as asking them to fix her toilet. The nominee has denied these allegations, claiming at the hearing that the actual number of replacements was 27, not 46.

The scandal has sparked outrage not only from the main opposition People Power Party but also from the Korean Democratic Labor Party and the New Reform Party. Civic groups have also condemned the allegations surrounding Kang.

People Power Party Floor Leader Song Eon-seog called Kang’s likely appointment “a declaration of war against common sense,” during the main opposition party’s Monday leadership meeting.

Meanwhile, Lee Jae Myung’s approval rating declined for the first time this week since his inauguration in early June, according to a Realmeter survey released Monday. It dropped 2.4 percentage points to 62.2 percent from the previous week, after five consecutive weeks of gains. Negative assessments increased by 2.3 percentage points to 32.3 percent during the same period.

The pollster attributed the drop in approval ratings to controversies surrounding Kang and Lee Jin-sook’s ministerial nominations and confirmation hearings, casualties and damages from recent heavy torrential rains, and political turmoil stemming from expanding special counsel investigations into impeached former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee.

The survey involved 2,514 respondents aged 18 or older from Monday to Friday last week and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points, with a 95 percent confidence level.