"Separation of Powers Violation and Gift Money Suspicion" Jeong Seyeon Hearing Foresees Extreme Confrontation Between Ruling and Opposition Parties

Prime Minister nominee Jeong Sye-gyun is arriving at the confirmation hearing preparation office set up in Tongui-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 27th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] Extreme confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties is expected at the confirmation hearing of Prime Minister nominee Jeong Se-gyun. The Liberty Korea Party pointed out that a prime minister who previously served as the Speaker of the National Assembly violates the separation of powers and announced a "fierce attack." On the other hand, the ruling party, the Democratic Party of Korea, plans to push through the prime minister's confirmation through the "4+1 coalition (Democratic Party, Bareunmirae Party, Justice Party, Party for Democracy and Peace + Alternative Party)."

The National Assembly will hold the confirmation hearing for nominee Jeong from the 7th to the 8th. On the 7th, questions will focus on morality and work-related matters, and on the 8th, witnesses and reference persons will be questioned.

The Liberty Korea Party has already set a policy of "non-approval" and announced a fierce attack. In the previously conducted written inquiries, the confirmation committee members from the Liberty Korea Party unanimously pointed out that nominating Jeong, who served as the Speaker of the National Assembly, as prime minister violates the separation of powers.

Various suspicions related to nominee Jeong's assets were also raised. Representative Joo Ho-young inquired in writing about the total amount of congratulatory money received at nominee Jeong's eldest son's wedding. He also questioned the source of funds, pointing out that Jeong's credit card usage and donations from 2015 to 2018 exceeded his total salary. The circumstances of real estate transactions such as officetels and apartments, as well as allegations of plagiarism in his doctoral dissertation, were also raised. Representative Kim Hyun-ah took charge of questions on recent political issues such as the Cho Kuk incident, Moon Jae-in government's real estate policy, and allegations of Blue House-directed investigations.

However, the ruling Democratic Party expects the confirmation hearing and the vote on the appointment bill to pass smoothly. According to the National Assembly Act, the prime minister's appointment bill passes with a majority of the members present (148 seats) and more than half of the attending members' approval. With the cooperation of the 4+1 coalition, recent election law amendments and the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office Act passed with 156 and 160 votes in favor, respectively. Democratic Party leader Lee Hae-chan emphasized at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly that morning, "Nominee Jeong is a suitable candidate with broad experience in politics, administration, and the National Assembly," and added, "At this moment, there is no one better than nominee Jeong as the best victory for the people." The Democratic Party plans to hold a plenary session around the 10th to conduct the confirmation vote. This is reportedly considering that Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon must resign by the 16th, the deadline for public officials to resign if they intend to run in the general election.

Nominee Jeong also rebutted the Liberty Korea Party's criticisms point by point in the written inquiries. Regarding the Liberty Korea Party's question on the separation of powers, Jeong replied, "Separation of powers means the division of functions in making and executing laws, not the division of personnel." He also said, "The order of protocol is to honor current officeholders according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' protocol manual, and I do not think it applies to former officeholders."

In response to the question about credit card usage exceeding income, he said, "In 2014, there was a wedding of my eldest daughter, and in 2015, my eldest son’s wedding, which involved significant expenses," and added, "My spouse had non-taxable income from pensions and congratulatory money inherited from my late mother-in-law in 2013." Regarding the congratulatory money suspicion, he answered, "I received about 150 million won each for the weddings of my eldest daughter and eldest son, which was used for wedding preparation costs and guest meals."

Meanwhile, the ruling and opposition parties agreed on the 3rd to summon four witnesses and four reference persons to the hearing. The witnesses are Go Byung-guk, Seoul City Council member; Jang Ha-jin, head of the foundation 'Gukmin Sidae'; Ahn Yeon, director of Gukmin Sidae; and Jeong Jong-ok, chairman of Jeonbuk Bugwi Nonghyup. The reference persons are lawyer Shin Pyeong, Professor Choi Bae-geun of Konkuk University’s Department of Economics, Professor Hong Jong-ho of Seoul National University’s Department of Environmental Planning, Professor Shin Bong-gi of Kyungpook National University Law School, and Professor Yoon Chang-hyun of the University of Seoul, totaling five people.