Minister of Justice Jeong Sung-ho expresses his resignation... Blue House begins preparations for follow-up appointments

As Justice Minister Jeong Sung-ho submitted his resignation on the 18th, attention is focused on the timetable for the cabinet reshuffle of the Lee Jae-myung administration in its second year in power, including the timing of Minister Jeong's replacement.

Some are predicting that some ministries, including the Ministry of Justice, will soon be reshuffled, given that the Blue House appears to have accepted Minister Jeong's resignation.

When asked about Minister Jeong's resignation letter at a briefing that day, Kang Yoo-jeong, Chief Spokesperson of the Blue House, said, "Minister Jeong has requested to be dismissed from office due to health reasons. Minister Jeong has faithfully performed his role in accordance with the public's demands."

Compared to the Blue House's response last month when it was reported that Minister Jeong had expressed his resignation, saying, "The announcement of his resignation is not true," this can be interpreted as showing its intention to respect Minister Jeong's wishes.

At the same time, Chief Spokesperson Kang formalized the process of selecting the successor to the Minister of Justice, saying, "We asked you to fulfill your role until follow-up personnel actions are taken."

Some in the legal community had predicted that Vice Minister Lee Jin-soo would lead the Ministry of Justice as acting minister if Minister Jeong steps down, but the possibility of a transition to an acting system has become slim due to the Blue House's message today.

As such, the process to find a successor to the Minister of Justice has no choice but to speed up.

In particular, as Minister Chung announced his resignation at the end of the National Convention of the Democratic Party of Korea and the inauguration of a new leadership, speculation is being raised that the clock for the entire Cabinet reshuffle, beyond the Ministry of Justice, may also be speeding up.

However, on the other side, there is a counterargument that it is difficult to predict the timing of a cabinet reshuffle as there are many variables.

It is argued that unless President Lee replaces the Minister of Justice with a 'one-point' approach, the selection processes of other ministries, including the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, will inevitably be linked.

In addition to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the possibility of replacing the Minister of Health and Welfare or the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is also being discussed in the political world. In this case, there may be further delays in the selection process, and there is a natural possibility that the timing of Minister Jeong's resignation will be delayed as well.

Furthermore, some voices are saying that even if the cabinet reshuffle is carried out, there are still many hurdles to overcome until Minister Jeong's fate is completely resolved, such as the fact that it is currently difficult to guarantee whether the confirmation hearing for the Minister of Justice will proceed smoothly.