With the spouse of Minister nominee Lee So-young for the Ministry of SMEs and Startups working as an attorney at Kim & Chang, a "conflict of interest issue" is expected to be a focal point at the National Assembly confirmation hearing.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) counts among its core duties investigating and overseeing unfair trade practices in transactions between large corporations and small and midsize enterprises, including issues related to supply prices, technical data, contracts, and terms of transactions, and providing relief to harmed small businesses. Accordingly, whether the nominee's spouse's corporate legal advisory work could overlap with the MSS's investigative and supervisory functions is cited as a key item for scrutiny at the hearing.
According to legal sources, attorney Kim, the nominee's spouse, joined Kim & Chang in May 2023 after working about eight years as a prosecutor. The spouse is currently providing legal advice to corporations in the areas of criminal and white-collar crime, anti-money laundering, and compliance management. The nominee also worked at Kim & Chang for about four years as an environmental and energy specialist attorney before entering politics.
At the hearing, the spouse's specific scope of work and areas of engagement are expected to be major subjects of verification. The central question is how to establish conflict-of-interest safeguards—such as recusal and information barriers—in anticipation of scenarios in which, after the nominee takes office as Minister, the spouse might advise corporations subject to the MSS's investigations and oversight.
In fact, Kim & Chang handled cases including an unfair subcontracting transaction case involving a domestic software development large corporation in 2023, an unfair subcontracting transaction case involving a domestic auto parts company in 2025, and, in 2026, a case concerning allegations of abuse of superior bargaining position related to the termination of dealership transactions and demands for management information by a global materials corporation.
However, it is difficult to conclude that a legal conflict of interest has arisen solely because the spouse works at Kim & Chang. Whether an actual conflict exists should be determined by examining whether the corporations or cases the spouse handles are specifically related to the MSS's policymaking and investigative work.
An attorney who formerly served as a National Assembly aide said, "It is difficult to conclude that a legal conflict of interest is established solely because the spouse handles a corporation's criminal case or compliance work," but added, "That does not mean a conflict-of-interest issue cannot arise."
The attorney added, "It is important to prepare concrete management measures in advance, such as recusal or information barriers, considering that the Minister's duties and the spouse's work could directly intersect," and emphasized, "Even if the spouse is not officially designated as the attorney of record for a case, one must examine the possibility of involvement through internal advice or support during the legal response process."
The process of asset formation is also subject to scrutiny at the hearing. According to the confirmation request submitted to the National Assembly on the 4th, the nominee reported assets of about 1.52 billion won, including the nominee's and the spouse's deposits and real estate. The hearing is expected to examine not only the size of the nominee's and spouse's assets but also how they were formed, changes in assets relative to income, and the appropriateness of the disclosures.
A member of the confirmation hearing preparation team for Minister nominee Lee So-young at the MSS said, "It is fundamental for public officials to perform their duties fairly and transparently," adding, "If the ministerial post is assumed, we will strictly comply with relevant standards and laws and preemptively block matters that could pose conflicts of interest to prevent related concerns from arising."