President Moon Approves National Assembly Confirmation Requests for Nominees Lee In-young and Park Ji-won
Park Ji-won, nominee for the Director of the National Intelligence Service, is leaving his residence in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 8th. [Image source=Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] On the 8th, President Moon Jae-in submitted the personnel hearing request and accompanying documents such as property details for nominee Lee In-young, Minister of Unification, and nominee Park Ji-won, Director of the National Intelligence Service, to the National Assembly. This was five days after the announcement of their nominations.
According to the request submitted by President Moon, nominee Park reported a total property value of 1,773,857,000 KRW under his name.
Nominee Park declared an apartment in Yeouido, Seoul (192㎡) valued at 1,470,000,000 KRW. He held deposits amounting to approximately 390,000,000 KRW and also owned a membership to the Millennium Hilton Seoul Hotel Health Club worth about 10,000,000 KRW. Park's total debt amounts to 146,830,000 KRW.
Park was discharged from the army as a sergeant in 1967. He has two daughters who lost their Korean nationality in 1994. Born in 1983 and 1985 respectively, they renounced their Korean nationality at ages 11 and 9. Both daughters are currently known to hold U.S. citizenship. All are married, and Park lost his wife in 2018.
Regarding his criminal record, in 2006 he was sentenced to three years in prison and fined for violating the Act on Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation and the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act. He was pardoned in 2007 and received a special reinstatement in 2008.
In the personnel hearing request statement, President Moon stated, "As a hidden key figure who made the first-ever inter-Korean summit since the division of the Korean Peninsula possible, and with his role as a vanguard of inter-Korean reconciliation and over 30 years of political experience, he is judged to be a suitable candidate who can contribute to the National Intelligence Service's leap forward as an advanced intelligence agency based on public trust."
Meanwhile, nominee Lee declared total assets of approximately 1,075,800,000 KRW, including those of his spouse, mother, and son. Real estate declared includes an apartment in Guro-gu, Seoul (231,000,000 KRW) under his spouse's name and an apartment in Chungju, Chungbuk (91,000,000 KRW) under his mother's name.
Deposits reported include 115,000,000 KRW in a political fund account, 73,000,000 KRW under his personal name, and 408,000,000 KRW under his wife's name, totaling about 590,000,000 KRW combined for the couple. Additionally, he declared a Niro hybrid car under his name valued at 19,810,000 KRW and a debt of 30,000,000 KRW under his son's name.
In the request statement, President Moon explained about nominee Lee, "With his outstanding negotiation skills and strong drive, he will help manage the organization as Minister of Unification and creatively lead inter-Korean relations."
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