President Park Geun-hye said Tuesday the deputy prime minister has worked hard and done a good job being a “control tower” for economic affairs in an apparent vote of confidence for a man accused of incompetence by both the ruling and opposition parties.

Questions have grown over whether Deputy Prime Minister Hyun Oh-seok is doing his job well as the top official responsible for leading Asia’s fourth-largest economy out of the prolonged slump and resolving a string of complex and contentious economic issues.

Not only has the main opposition Democratic Party voiced skepticism about Hyun’s performance, but the ruling Saenuri Party has also raised concerns, accusing him of taking too cautious an approach to many difficult issues, rather than trying to tackle them head-on.

Some have even called for a reshuffle of the economic team.

On Tuesday, however, Park made clear that she still has trust in Hyun.

“The deputy prime minister had less than four months to work in earnest because the launch of the new government had been delayed,” Park said during a Cabinet meeting, referring to the delay in her Cabinet formation earlier this year. “But I think he has worked hard.”

Park also said that Hyun has done a good job in coordinating policies of different agencies and laying the groundwork for revitalizing investment. She told Hyun “to work harder and play the role of an economic control tower” so that achievements can be felt by the people in the second half of the year. (Yonhap News)