The ruling and opposition parties sparred throughout the weekend over Minister nominee for the Ministry of Planning and Budget Lee Hye-hoon, who faces allegations of power abuse and verbal abuse. The People Power Party urged her to resign immediately, saying she has lost the qualifications for public office, while the Democratic Party of Korea criticized the opposition's offensive as like spitting into the well they drank from.
Choi Bo-yoon, chief spokesperson of the People Power Party, said in a commentary on the 4th, was the recommendation of a power-abusing nominee and the Blue House personnel vetting incompetence or deliberate, adding that the allegations of aides suffering power abuse and verbal abuse surrounding this nominee should have been flagged at the presidential office's civil service personnel vetting stage before the confirmation hearing.
Choi said this is not an issue that can be covered with an explanation or an apology, adding that it is closer to a nationwide fraud than unity. He said that if the person who wrote in a past book that eradicating power abuse is the reason for doing politics in fact habitually hurled verbal abuse and engaged in power abuse toward aides, that is no different from doing politics to commit power abuse.
He added that the Ministry of Planning and Budget is a ministry where coordination and collaboration with public officials are essential, asking what basis there is to expect that someone who habitually used verbal abuse and power abuse toward aides as a lawmaker would show a completely different face when collaborating with public officials. He said the nominee should resign voluntarily as the minimum responsibility, and that President Lee Jae-myung should also apologize to the public for this personnel vetting failure and take responsible measures, including withdrawing the nomination.
By contrast, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Park Ji-won said on social media the previous night that no one in the People Power Party is qualified to cast a stone at Lee Hye-hoon, asking whether the People Power Party found her clean when it nominated this nominee five times (for the 17th, 18th, 20th, 21st and 22nd general elections), only for her to suddenly become a corrupt politician in the few days after the announcement of her appointment as Minister.
Park said nominee Lee Hye-hoon is apologizing for wrongdoing and seeking to be vetted on policy and competence, so why does the People Power Party keep trying to spit into the well they drank from, adding that this is not politics but wrecking.