Minister nominee Kim Seung-won's side pushed back against allegations of favoritism surrounding a developmental disability institution run by the family, saying it was "an institution selected through an open call and screening." They also criticized People Power Party lawmaker Joo Jin-woo's phrases such as "tax straw" and "family paycheck party," saying the salaries the family received were compensation for actual work.
Kim's confirmation hearing preparation team on the 6th issued a press notice stating its position on the favoritism allegations raised by the lawmaker.
First, they argued there was no favoritism in the process by which the Korea Child Development Social Cooperative operated by the nominee's family was designated as a provider of activity services for people with developmental disabilities by Suwon City.
Suwon City held an open call for providers of activity services for people with developmental disabilities from Feb. 14 to 16, 2022. On the 28th of the same month, it reviewed facility and project performance, staff expertise, program excellence, and more, and selected six institutions, including the Korea Child Development Social Cooperative, according to the nominee's side.
The nominee's side said, "It was not that a specific institution was arbitrarily funded, but that it was designated as a service provider through an open call and screening," adding that Kim did not exert influence over the selection process.
They also rebutted that the "voucher revenue" totaling 878.77 million won over four years was not favoritism.
The nominee's side explained that the developmental disability voucher is not subsidies that the government pays to institutions without compensation, but a system in which people with developmental disabilities pay expenses with vouchers after using social services such as education and care. They argued that, because the cooperative actually provided services and received payment from users via vouchers, it is no different from ordinary service sales.
They also pushed back against criticism calling the salaries paid to family members a "family paycheck party." They explained that the nominee's spouse works as center director, the eldest son as a full-time employee, and the second daughter as a part-time employee.
Based on the monthly average of salaries from 2021 through August this year presented by the nominee's side, the spouse received about 3.5 million won and the eldest son about 3.06 million won. The second daughter was presented as having received 1.2 million won in 2024, 1.8 million won in 2025, and 4.78 million won through August this year.
The nominee's side said the eldest son majored in occupational therapy and handles occupational therapy and care-teacher duties, while the second daughter graduated in health and early childhood education and is in charge of education and childcare support.
The nominee's side argued that, because care work for people with developmental disabilities is physically and psychologically demanding and it is difficult to hire staff, family members have also taken part in meal preparation, vehicle operation, center management, occupational therapy and care, after-school classes, and weekend programs.
Regarding the eldest son being listed as "HR manager" in a job posting, they explained, "While handling recruitment tasks on a job site, he entered his name and title in the contact person field."
The nominee's side rebutted expressions used by the lawmaker such as "tax straw" and "family paycheck party" as "negative campaigning that denigrates the lives of the nominee's family, who have worked in the field for people with developmental disabilities for many years," and demanded the allegations be corrected and an apology made.