Rival parties are clashing over nominee Han Seong-sook, named as the Lee Jae-myung administration's second candidate for prime minister, amid controversy about delayed corrective action on an illegal extension in Jongno District and questions over her real estate holdings.
Park Sung-hoon, senior spokesperson for the People Power Party, issued a commentary on the 13th, saying, "The nomination of Han is not a simple personnel failure but a symbolic event in which the Lee Jae-myung administration's hypocrisy and double standards are condensed."
Park said, "Han recognized the illegal extension of a building in Jongno District but failed to rectify it for a long time," adding, "Only belatedly moving to demolish it right after being nominated as prime minister is not the conduct of a responsible public official, but merely a hastily cobbled-together face-saving measure tailored to public opinion."
On Han's real estate, the statement said, "Han is a multiple-home owner with a total of four dwellings—three in Seoul and one in Gyeonggi Province," and added, "By the president's own standards, Han is 'unqualified,' not even fit to make photocopies on real estate policy." It continued, "When they do it, it's investment; when others do it, it's speculation," calling it "the epitome of the double-standard politics the public most despises."
The Democratic Party said the baseless smear campaign against Han should stop. Kang Jun-hyun, senior spokesperson for the Democratic Party, said, "The People Power Party's attacks on Han are becoming excessively upside down," adding, "Han has expressed contrition before the public and is actively taking measures commensurate with the issue."
Kang added, "Han sold the Jamsil apartment at a price 400 million won lower than the previous transaction and will pay the capital gains tax in accordance with procedure." He also said, "The dwellings in Gangnam District, Seoul, and Yangpyeong County, Gyeonggi Province, are likewise being pushed for sale at low prices." Addressing the People Power Party, he said, "By the same standard, shouldn't you first resolve the self-contradictory problem of about 40% of your own lawmakers being multiple-home owners?"
Kang also highlighted Han's policy record. He said, "As Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), Han Seong-sook pushed the 'Startup for All Project,' which has surpassed a cumulative 1.11 million visitors, and new venture funds also reached a record-high scale of 4,400 billion won." He added, "At a turning point toward a new era represented by AI, Han is the right person to carry out the tasks of the times, and has already proven that capability."