As the confirmation hearing for the nominee for the first prime minister under the Lee Jae-myung administration, Kim Min-seok, approaches, tensions between the ruling and opposition parties are escalating over schedules and the selection of witnesses.
Members of the National Assembly's special committee on the confirmation hearing, affiliated with the People Power Party, on 17th raised 10 disqualifying reasons against nominee Kim and urged cooperation with the confirmation hearing procedures, including document submission. They also stated that they would hold a "national confirmation hearing" to report to the public separately from the official hearing on the allegations regarding Kim. The Democratic Party responded, saying, "The People Power Party should not insult the nominee with baseless allegations."
Baek Joon-young, the People Power Party's chairperson of the confirmation hearing committee, along with lawmakers Kim Hee-jung, Kwak Gyu-taek, and Joo Jin-woo, strongly criticized, stating, "If the nominee's side and the Democratic Party do not cooperate in preparing for the hearing, it means they intend to treat the hearing as a mere formality." They reiterated their demands for document submission and witness selection by presenting the '10 disqualifying reasons' surrounding nominee Kim.
The '10 disqualifying reasons' presented by the People Power Party include ▲opaque sources of funding and allegations related to political funds ▲expenditures exceeding income ▲accumulation of assets without income ▲excessive donation history ▲use of legislative activities for children's admissions ▲undisclosed sources of children's school fees ▲authenticity of a master's degree in China ▲suspicions of address misrepresentation ▲criminal records ▲anti-U.S. sentiments. They raised their voices, stating, "Just looking at these contents, it is appropriate for the prime minister nominee to decide on their own future."
The People Power Party also emphasized the need for Kang Shin-sung, who served as the head of Kim's supporters until last year, to appear as a witness, stating, "It seems necessary to clarify not only illegal political funds for which he has already been punished but also the unusual loans made with Kim Min-seok."
Additionally, it was noted, "The nominee stated that his ex-wife covered the children's school fees. However, there is no evidence that his ex-wife was in a position to afford the quite expensive high school and university tuition at that time," and they demanded that both the nominee's current and former wives also be requested as witnesses.
Furthermore, the People Power Party pointed out that the high school legislation project draft created by the nominee's son is almost identical to the actual bill proposed by Democratic Party lawmaker Kang Deuk-gu, and that the internship experience abroad was completed domestically, emphasizing, "If it was not utilized for admission, submit the admission documents filed with the university he is currently enrolled in."
The People Power Party announced that it would start a public reporting session in the form of a 'national confirmation hearing' targeting the public from this day. It plans to hold press conferences daily at the National Assembly Communication Hall until the 20th to raise related allegations and receive tips from the public. They maintain that witnesses must be called to the confirmation hearing.
In response, the ruling Democratic Party opposed it, calling it "humiliation." Spokesperson Park Kyung-mi stated, "Treating the prime minister nominee like a criminal suspect and summoning family members as witnesses to interrogate them is an indiscriminate attack. Does this kind of humiliation match the original purpose of the confirmation hearing?" and said, "Do not insult the nominee with baseless allegations."
The special committee on the confirmation hearing for nominee Kim convened under the chairpersonship of Lee Jong-bae from the People Power Party this morning, but as they could not reach a conclusion, negotiations will resume this afternoon.