SEOUL, June 22 (AJP) -South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's appointment of a conservative-leaning former prosecutor as senior presidential secretary for civil affairs is exposing growing fissures within the ruling camp at a time when both the president and his party are facing slipping public support.
Lee on Sunday named Han Chan-sik, a lawyer at Kim & Chang and a former senior prosecutor, to the powerful post overseeing public officials and legal affairs.
The presidential office said Han would help strengthen accountability across the civil service and advance the administration's prosecutorial reform agenda, including plans to establish a new major crimes investigation agency and a separate public prosecution office.
The appointment, however, immediately sparked criticism from Lee's liberal support base and members of the ruling camp.
As chief prosecutor in Seoul, Han led the investigation into the so-called environment ministry blacklist scandal under the administration of former President Moon Jae-in. The probe resulted in the indictment of former Environment Minister Kim Eun-kyung and former presidential aides Song In-bae and Shin Mi-sook.
The case made Han a controversial figure among some progressive activists and loyalists of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, who viewed the investigation as politically damaging to a previous liberal administration.
Online communities broadly supportive of the ruling camp, including Ddanzi Ilbo and Clien, were flooded with posts criticizing the appointment on Sunday.
Critics have also highlighted Han's family ties to the late Choi Byung-ryul, a former leader of the Grand National Party, the predecessor of the main opposition People Power Party.
Choi played a leading role in the National Assembly's 2004 impeachment of former President Roh Moo-hyun, a move that triggered a political backlash and was later overturned by the Constitutional Court.
The infighting is unfolding alongside a noticeable deterioration in Lee's public support.
A Realmeter poll released Monday showed Lee's approval rating falling for a fifth consecutive week. Support for Lee's handling of state affairs dropped 4.8 percentage points from the previous week to 46.7 percent, marking the first time his approval rating has fallen below the 50 percent threshold since taking office.
The survey of 2,517 adults was conducted between June 15 and 19.
Realmeter said growing criticism over internal power struggles within the ruling party and disputes surrounding party leadership issues had contributed to negative public sentiment.
A separate Realmeter survey conducted June 18-19 among 1,001 voters found the conservative PPPP leading the DP in support for a second consecutive week. The PPP recorded 42.3 percent support, compared with 40.1 percent for the DP.
Ruling party lawmakers largely expressed respect for the president's appointment.
"It is not particularly desirable to draw a line against someone because he is someone's son-in-law or son," said Rep. Min Byung-deok of the DP.
"As a senior member of the ruling party, I respect the president's personnel appointment," said a four-term lawmaker from the same party.
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