Since the inauguration of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, the Minister of Health and Welfare has been vacant for 78 days as of Wednesday.
Lawmakers worried about the long-term vacancy of the post, but the health and welfare ministry brushed aside such concerns.
The National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee members expressed concerns over the vacant post of the health minister through a written questionnaire at a meeting on Aug. 2.
Rep. Nam In-soon of the Democratic Party of Korea asked whether the government had a plan to “minimize the void of the health and welfare minister.”
The health ministry said, “Even though we have no minister, first and second vice ministers are heading the ministry to carry out health and welfare tasks without a problem.”
The ministry noted that higher-ranking officials held daily meetings to respond to Covid-19 and check health and welfare issues.
“Internally, we are encouraging all employees to establish public service discipline and focus on their work,” the ministry added.
Still, Rep. Choi Young-hee of the People Power Party pointed out that a long-term void of the health minister could hurt the nation’s response to Covid-19.
In reply, the health ministry said the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH), headed by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, was in charge of the government’s Covid-19 response.
The ministry said that the Central Disaster Management Headquarters and CDSCH were responding to the pandemic together.
Choi also asked whether the recent failure to appoint the health minister affected the recent resurgence of Covid-19 cases.
The ministry said the rising daily cases of Covid-19 were due to epidemiological and environmental factors, including the spread of the highly transmissible virus variants and the weakening effects of vaccinations.
The ministry said vice ministers, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency Commissioner, and quarantine experts established measures in July to fight viral resurgence and enhance medical care.
First health minister nominee Chung Ho-young, former chief of Kyungpook National University Hospital, withdrew from nomination amid controversy over his children’s admission to the university’s medical school.
The second nominee, Kim Seung-hee, a former lawmaker, also gave up the nomination after being accused of using her political funds for personal purposes.