The ruling and opposition parties agreed to reopen the confirmation hearing for Minister nominee Lee Hye-hoon of the Ministry of Planning and Budget on the 23rd, on the condition that materials are submitted, after the hearing fell apart on the 19th. Earlier, the People Power Party had refused to hold the hearing for the nominee, citing inadequate submission of materials.
Jung Tae-ho, a lawmaker of the Democratic Party of Korea and the ruling party secretary of the National Assembly Strategy and Finance Committee, told ChosunBiz on the 21st, "The Democratic Party and the People Power Party have tentatively agreed to hold a hearing for the nominee on the 23rd on the condition that materials are submitted."
The Strategy and Finance Committee initially held a full meeting on the 19th to discuss the hearing for the nominee. The People Power Party boycotted the hearing, saying most of the requested materials had not been submitted, while the Democratic Party called for swift proceedings, saying the schedule had been set by bipartisan agreement. At the time, the nominee could not even take a seat in the hearing room.
Since the hearing was scrapped, the ruling and opposition parties have discussed whether to hold it. In particular, as the presidential office maintained the stance of "leaving it to the people's judgment" on the nominee, the ruling party also threw its weight behind holding the hearing. Accordingly, the Democratic Party pressed the nominee's side to submit as many of the materials requested by the People Power Party as possible, and the People Power Party decided to watch the status of the submissions.
Park Soo-young, a People Power Party lawmaker and the opposition party secretary of the Strategy and Finance Committee, said the day before, "Whether to hold the hearing depends on the submission of materials," adding, "Strategy and Finance Committee members from the People Power Party and the Reform Party re-requested about 90 key items on the afternoon of the 19th, but not a single one had been submitted as of this morning."
The deadline for the National Assembly to adopt the confirmation hearing report on the nominee is the 21st. If the National Assembly does not adopt the report, the president can request resubmission within 10 days. Even after a resubmission request, if the report is not adopted, the president can push ahead with the appointment.