By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter


The ruling Uri Party Thursday virtually refused to attend a dinner which President Roh Moo-hyun was scheduled to hold for senior party officials at Chong Wa Dae.

The move came as the party has been expressing objections to President Roh Moo hyun’s nomination of Rhyu Si-min, an outspoken, controversial lawmaker of the party, as the new health and welfare minister Wednesday.

In an apparent protest against the nomination, leaders of the Uri Party asked the presidential office to cancel the Chong Wa Dae meeting.

``The party leadership held a meeting early in the morning and decided to ask the presidential office to postpone the dinner with the president,’’ a party spokesman said.

He explained they only decided to delay the meeting until after the party’s new interim leadership is elected. Rep. Chung Sye-kyun, acting chairman of the party, has offered to resign since he was nominated as minister of commerce, industry and energy. The party is to select an acting leader who will take care of the party until it elects a new leadership at a national convention in mid-February.

Roh carried out a partial Cabinet reshuffle on Monday, which affected four ministers. He was also expected to announce his choice for the new health and welfare minister as well at the time.

But his secretary who announced the list of new minister-nominees omitted the name of a candidate for the health and welfare minister, saying Roh would talk about the matter soon with party leaders before making a final decision as there seem to be some voices unfavorable to the choice.

An ardent supporter of the liberal Roh, Rhyu, 47, is a second-term legislator who is well known for an uncompromising attitude toward the conservatives. Rhyu has often stirred up squabbles with his political opponents due to his blunt and barbed criticisms of figures from opposition parties.

On Wednesday, however, the presidential office announced Roh’s nomination of Rhyu as health and welfare minister before the scheduled dinner the next day. Kim Wan-key, senior presidential secretary for personnel affairs, stressed that it is the president who has the authority to appoint Cabinet ministers.

Responses from the ruling party were tougher than expected. A group of 18 lawmakers expressed regret at what they called the president’s obstinacy.

Chong Wa Dae, which seemed quite uncomfortable, said it ``understands the party’s decision,’’ adding that it would arrange a dinner after the Uri Party elects an interim leadership.

Due to a revision of relevant laws last July, any nomination for a Cabinet minister now needs to undergo a confirmation procedure at the National Assembly. So the legislature would hold hearings on the nominees in the coming weeks, though it would not put them to a floor vote.

Chong Wa Dae officials hoped the feud within the ruling camp would subside quickly. But voices from the party did not fulfill that hope. Rep. Kim Won-wung, a mild reformist, said that Roh’s nominations have prompted a need to prepare for a ``political divorce.’’

jinryu@koreatimes.co.kr