An appointment ceremony will be held at 3 p.m. at Cheong Wa Dae, the spokesman added.

Yoo, a lawmaker of the ruling Democratic Party, will be appointed the new education minister and deputy prime minister for social affairs, one day after the National Assembly again failed to meet the deadline for issuing a report on the outcome of her confirmation hearing last month.

The report is considered the parliament's blessing for a new minister, though a minister does not require parliamentary confirmation to be appointed.

The main opposition Liberty Korea Party objected to her appointment, citing ethical lapses such as the false registration of her daughter's address to get her admitted to a better elementary school.

"We believe Yoo has adequately apologized for what she needed to apologize for and explained what needed to be explained," the Cheong Wa Dae spokesman said.

Still, her appointment is widely expected to cause further discord between the government and the opposition party, which has long accused the president of disregarding the opposition's voice despite his offer to form what he calls a quasi-coalition government with the opposition.

"But then we must wonder if not appointing Yoo would enable bipartisan politics or joint governance," Kim said.

Yoo was nominated in late August, along with four other new ministers, including new Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo.

Jeong and the three other new ministers were appointed Sept.

21. They are Commerce Minister Sung Yun-mo, Labor Minister Lee Jae-kap and Minister of Gender Equality and Family Jin Sun-mee. (Yonhap)