SEOUL, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in completed the organization of his cabinet on Tuesday, more than six months after he was inaugurated on May 10.
President Moon appointed Hong Jong-hak, former lawmaker of the ruling Democratic Party, as the venture minister, filling all 19 posts of the cabinet in six and a half months after his inauguration, according to the presidential Blue House.
It took the longest among Moon's predecessors to fill the 19-member cabinet. Moon was elected president through an unprecedent presidential by-election in May as his predecessor was impeached for the first time in the country's modern history.
It was inevitable to take long forming the cabinet as the Moon government was launched without transition period of about two months.
Despite strong objections from opposition parties, the president pushed ahead with the appointment of Hong as head of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, which was newly minted under the Moon administration.
Opposition parties objected Hong amid controversy over his daughter's inheritance of family wealth.
Cabinet members are subject to a parliamentary confirmation hearing, but ministers can be appointed by president although the confirmation hearing report is not approved by the parliament.
Moon's ruling Democratic Party currently has 121 parliamentary seats, far short of a majority in the 300-seat National Assembly.
