Jeong Eui-yong Hearing, 'North Korea Nuclear Plant' a Hot Issue... Jeong "Considering CPTPP Participation"

Foreign Minister nominee Chung Eui-yong is attending and speaking at the confirmation hearing held by the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee on the 5th. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso76@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Jeong Eui-yong, the nominee for Minister of Foreign Affairs, strongly denied the opposition's suspicion regarding the 'North Korean nuclear power plant,' stating that "it has never been mentioned at the government level." Jeong also announced that he would promote visits by the Chinese and Russian heads of state and consider comprehensive and progressive participation in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

At the confirmation hearing of the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee held on the morning of the 5th, when Lee Tae-gyu, a member of the People’s Party, asked about the production process of the North Korean nuclear power plant document, Jeong replied, "As a working-level official, I guess it was an idea for possible future scenarios, but I do not know the exact purpose." Jeong was in charge of overseeing related discussions as the National Security Office Chief at the Blue House during the inter-Korean summit, where the government is suspected of delivering documents supporting nuclear power plant construction in North Korea.

However, Lee questioned, "Can a public official create a project report with low feasibility without instructions from superiors?" Jeong responded, "There were no instructions from above," adding, "At that time, many media outlets published articles suggesting that nuclear power plants should be built in North Korea." Despite further questioning, he answered, "It was a working-level review, not an idea reviewed at the government level."

In his opening remarks that day, Jeong stated, "The peace process on the Korean Peninsula is not a choice but a path that must be taken," and announced plans to promote exchanges at the presidential and high-level levels with the Biden administration and to facilitate visits by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin to Korea.

On the same day, the opposition strongly protested that their requests for witnesses and reference persons were not accepted. Members of the People Power Party’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee held a press conference just before the hearing, criticizing, "We requested witnesses and reference persons such as John Bolton, then U.S. National Security Advisor, Lee Soo-hyuk, Ambassador to the U.S., and Kim Do-gyun, Commander of the Capital Defense Command, but the Democratic Party did not agree."