S. Korean president appoints first female FM despite opposition

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Sunday appointed Kang Kyung-wha as the country's first female foreign minister, despite harsh resistance from the conservative opposition party.

Moon provided a certificate of appointment for Kang at the conferment ceremony, which was held in the presidential Blue House earlier in the day, according to a press release from Moon's office.

The liberal leader, who took office on May 10, named Kang as his foreign minister nominee on May 21, but the official appointment was delayed amid strong opposition from the main conservative opposition, the Liberty Korea Party.

The conservative party opposed Kang's nomination over several controversies, including her false registration of her home address for educational purposes, but about 80 percent of South Koreans trusted Moon's nomination of his cabinet members, including Kang, recent opinion polls showed.

The minor progressive Justice Party welcomed Kang's nomination, describing the resistance as "opposition for the sake of opposition."

President Moon said the foreign minister post cannot be left vacant anymore because the South Korea-US summit is around the corner and the Group of 20 summit meeting will come.

Moon is scheduled to leave for Washington on June 28 for a two-day summit meeting with US President Donald Trump from June 29.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)