The National Assembly confirmation hearing for Minister of Planning and Budget nominee Lee Hye-hoon slated for the 19th was scrapped. The People Power Party argues that the committee should decide whether to hold the hearing after receiving additional documents to be submitted by the nominee.
According to political circles on the 19th, the National Assembly Strategy and Finance Planning Committee postponed the confirmation hearing for the nominee scheduled for that day. The deadline for the National Assembly to adopt the confirmation hearing report on the nominee is the 21st.
Park Sung-hoon, chief spokesperson of the People Power Party and a member of the committee, met reporters at the National Assembly and said, "As of now, no materials (regarding the nominee) have come in," and added, "Even if they arrive today, we need at least two days to analyze them and prepare questions."
The committee held a general meeting in the morning to discuss the confirmation hearing for the nominee, but it broke down after only confirming differences. The People Power Party declared a boycott of the hearing, citing insufficient document submissions, while the Democratic Party of Korea said the schedule had been set by bipartisan agreement and called for prompt proceedings. The nominee was not even able to take a seat in the hearing room.
Committee Chair Lim Lee-ja said at the general meeting, "How could a public office nominee say they will file a complaint against lawmakers conducting vetting? This is not right," and added, "At the last general meeting, we resolved that if documents were not submitted faithfully, the schedule could be changed. We cannot overlook such matters."
The committee is expected to decide whether to hold the hearing through consultations between the ruling and opposition party secretaries. If the hearing continues to be delayed, the nominee will be appointed by a decision from the presidential office. If the National Assembly does not adopt the confirmation hearing report, the president can request its resubmission within 10 days. If the report is still not adopted after the resubmission request, the president can push ahead with the appointment.