President Yoon Suk Yeol has approved the appointments of the nominees for education minister and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff(JCS) without parliamentary confirmation hearings.
The office for Yoon's spokesperson made the announcement on Monday after health minister nominee Kim Seung-hee resigned in the face of allegations that she violated the Political Funds Act when she was a lawmaker during the 20th National Assembly.
Amid a prolonged vacuum in parliament due to bipartisan wrangling over standing committee appointments, education minister nominee Park Soon-ae, who doubles as deputy prime minister, and JCS chairman nominee Kim Seung-kyum were appointed without the hearings.
Yoon also nominated Song Ok-rial, a professor at the Seoul National University law school, as the new head of the Fair Trade Commission(FTC).
Song, who received training alongside Yoon after passing the state bar exam, is a renowned academic in commercial law.
Meanwhile, Yoon asked the Assembly to hand over a confirmation hearing report for Financial Services Commission(FSC) chairman nominee Kim Joo-hyun.