President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday appointed Hong Jong-haak as the chief of the new Ministry of SMEs and Startups, completing his Cabinet more than six months into his five-year term.

Hong, Moon’s second choice to lead the SME Ministry, was appointed without parliamentary approval. Although nominees for Cabinet posts are required to undergo parliamentary confirmation hearings, the president does not require the approval of political parties to appoint ministers. 

Five minister-level officials, including Hong, have now been appointed without the National Assembly’s approval. The other four posts filled without parliamentary approval were the defense and foreign ministers as well as the chiefs of the Fair Trade Commission and Korea Communications Commission.

Hong, a former lawmaker of the ruling Democratic Party, was branded unfit for office by opposition parties over unusual transactions between his daughter and wife. His underage daughter was given stakes in a building in Seoul by her maternal grandmother, and the gift tax was paid with money borrowed at an interest from her mother.

“The most important element of the new administration’s economic policies is supporting and nurturing SMEs, small merchants and startups,” Moon said at Hong’s appointment ceremony.

Saying that the Cabinet needed to be completed quickly, Moon asked for opposition parties’ understanding toward Hong’s appointment.

“I feel a heavy responsibility in that the SMEs and Startups Ministry was launched according to the will of the president and the people that (the Korean economy) must become SME-centric to achieve growth,” Hong said at a Cabinet meeting held immediately after his appointment.

Meanwhile, opposition parties criticized the move, accusing the president of breaking his promise to work with them.

The floor leader of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, Rep. Chung Woo-taik, hinted that his party may link Hong’s appointment with the annual budget assessment, a move often used by opposition parties to protest a move by the ruling party or the administration.

“The Liberty Korea Party expresses strong opposition to Hong’s appointment, and the Moon administration is responsible for all problems linked to this matter,” Chung said.

Describing Hong’s appointment as “politics of obstinacy,” Chung said that Moon’s promise of cooperating with the opposition bloc would be recorded as “the first lie of the Moon administration.”

The minor opposition People’s Party, which split from the Democratic Party, also attacked Moon and the ruling party, saying that Hong’s appointment was against the will of the parliament and the public.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)