President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday tapped four lawmakers of his liberal Democratic Party of Korea to fill key Cabinet posts, in a gesture to push ahead with his personnel blueprint despite recent disputes over some of the minister nominees.

Rep. Kim Boo-kyum, a rare liberal lawmaker representing a district in the hard-line conservative city of Daegu, was nominated as interior minister, while poet-turned-lawmaker Rep. Do Jong-hwan was tapped as culture minister. Reps. Kim Hyun-mee and Kim Young-choon were respectively chosen as minister of land, infrastructure and transport and minister of maritime affairs and fisheries.

All four are to keep their legislative positions upon taking office as ministers, as the National Assembly Act only bans lawmakers from becoming prime minister or state council member.

“Interior Minister nominee Kim is the right person to achieve the new government’s policy goals such as decentralization of power, balanced growth and national unity,” Cheong Wa Dae’s spokesperson Park Soo-hyun said in a briefing.

“We expect that he will re-establish the relationship between the central and provincial governments and create an innovative administration system to benefit all regions.”

Park also referred to Kim’s political career of giving up his conventional constituency and taking up the election challenge in the conservative stronghold of Daegu, in a bid to fix the liberal flag in the area.

“Not only is he a fourth-term senior lawmaker, but he also proved himself capable of giving up vested rights for better causes,” Park said.

The 59-year-old lawmaker also served as joint chief strategist in Moon’s camp during the electioneering season earlier this year.

“The people’s order during the candlelight protests last winter was to build a decent country, in which they may dream of a better life,” the nominee said in a press release following the presidential announcement.

“I shall do my best so that the new government may meet such demands and hope of the people.”

Rep. Do, 62, rose to public attention during the corruption investigation that led to the ouster of former President Park Geun-hye. He was the one to raise the suspicion that Samsung Group had offered benefits to the daughter of Park’s confidante Choi Soon-sil in exchange for business favors.

The former poet also suggested back in 2015 that the Park administration kept a blacklist of anti-government cultural figures, an issue which was rekindled during the Park scandal and eventually led to the arrest of former Culture Minister Cho Yoon-sun.

“Nominee Do has long been a renowned poet and lawmaker who stands on the side of the people. While resisting to powers which sought to dominate over people, he has never hesitated when it comes to holding hands with the people,” the Blue House spokesperson said.

During his years in literary circles, Do led an anti-government magazine to stand up against the dictatorships of the 1980s.

“The new government’s policy concerning the culture, art and sports sectors is that it shall offer support but not interfere,” Park said.

“With his cultural insights and his experience in related parliamentary committee, Rep. Do is qualified to lead the Culture Ministry which has more emergent tasks at hand than any other ministries.”

The 54-year-old Land Minister nominee Kim is deemed an expert in fiscal affairs and state administration, according to the Blue House. Last year, she became the first female lawmaker to chair the parliament’s Special Committee on Budget and Accounts.

“As the nation’s first female land minister, Rep. Kim will play a pivotal role in solving residential problems, achieving urban restoration new deal projects and creating jobs,” Park said.

One of the key challenges awaiting the incoming land minister is the policy investigation into the so-called Four River Restoration Project, a business project led by the former conservative Lee Myung-bak administration. As part of his goal to “eradicate accumulated evils,” President Moon earlier pledged to fully review the river development deal which had long been blamed for ruining the nation’s ecosystem.

“Though I haven’t been involved in the parliamentary land committee, I have frequently dealt with key housing policies in the finance committee and looked into social overhead capital issues when I was in the budget committee,” Kim told reporters in a press meeting.

Maritime Minister nominee Kim, 55, is a Busan-based third-termer who largely served in the parliamentary agriculture committee.

Once in office, Kim is to take charge of the investigation into the Sewol ferry sinking and the ongoing excavation operations, as well as the revitalization of the nation’s foundering shipping industry.

Moon’s personnel announcement of these four ministers came amid brawls over his choice of high-profile officials, especially Prime Minister nominee Lee Nak-yon whose nomination is still challenged by the main opposition Liberty Korea Party.

Dissenters’ claim is that Lee’s record of false residence registration in the past contradicts Moon’s election pledge to deny government posts to those with such moral flaws.

Also, expectations surfaced earlier on that the president may recruit Cabinet members from the largely conservative opposition circles as a gesture of political unity and cooperation. But Cheong Wa Dae moved quickly to deny such speculation.

“The chances are not high that (the president) will bring in members from the opposition camp,” spokesperson Park said during a radio interview with TBS on May 17.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)