Im Hye-sook Hearing... Opposition's Full-Scale Offensive Using 'Makmal', Ruling Party's Sweat-Inducing Defense (Summary)

Ministerial nominee for Science and ICT, Im Hye-sook, is attending the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the 4th, responding to questions from lawmakers. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] At the confirmation hearing for Im Hye-sook, Minister of Science and ICT, held on the 4th by the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Communications Committee, controversies arose over allegations of overseas trips with family members funded by public money, plagiarism accusations in her papers, and whether she was unqualified when appointed as Chairperson of the National Science and Technology Council (NST). Opposition party lawmakers pressured the nominee with provocative remarks such as "Are all Ewha Womans University professors like that?", "Female Cho Kuk", and "Shameless". However, Im, supported by ruling party lawmakers, relatively handled the situation without major mistakes.

◇ Controversy over overseas trips with family funded by public money

Park Sung-joong, the opposition party's floor leader from the People Power Party, mentioned Im's overseas trips accompanied by family members and urged, "Do not embarrass yourself at the confirmation hearing and resign immediately." He said, "I was really surprised by the idea that it is natural to bring family on official trips," and questioned, "Are all Ewha Womans University professors accustomed to bringing their families to academic conferences?"

Park also argued, "The nominee prioritizes personal gain too much. All the places visited with family are famous overseas resorts and tourist spots. It is unclear whether it was for academic conferences or family tourism," and refuted each of the nominee's explanations. Regarding the explanation that "all family expenses were paid out of pocket," he said, "When asked to submit documents, they did not," expressing disbelief, and also pointed out that the report on conference attendance was poorly prepared.

Park Dae-chul, also from the People Power Party, said, "The phrase 'most controversial' is attached before the nominee's name. Comments say 'Is she a female Cho Kuk?'" and criticized, "Do not accelerate the lame-duck period at the end of the administration; decide your own position."

Jeong Hee-yong from the same party said, "Going on overseas trips with family funded by public money and sharing hotel rooms is a 'mom chance' that frustrates young people," and urged, "Apologize to the younger generation who struggle to pay tuition."

In response, Im apologized, saying, "There were thoughtless points," but explained, "Other expenses including airfare were paid out of pocket." Regarding the poorly written conference attendance report, she countered, "During the conference, I attended meetings, presented papers, and acted as an executive. I did not go on a trip."

Ruling party lawmakers also supported Im. Woo Sang-ho of the Democratic Party first criticized Park Sung-joong's remark, "Are all Ewha Womans University professors like that?" as "inappropriate." Woo added, "Overseas, invitations often include wording about family accompaniment, so it is considered a common practice." Yoon Young-chan of the Democratic Party also asked, "How often does family accompaniment happen at global conferences in academia or engineering fields?" eliciting from Im the response, "Quite often. It is often done to encourage researcher participation." Yoon defended, saying, "Overseas, hosts encourage researchers' participation, but domestically there is a tendency to look down on it. It can be seen as a cultural difference."

Minister of Science and ICT nominee Im Hye-sook is delivering opening remarks at the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the 4th. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

◇ Allegations of unqualified appointment as NST Chairperson

Opposition lawmakers also attacked that Im applied for the NST Chairperson position in November last year while still a member of the Democratic Party, which is prohibited by the NST bylaws, making the appointment invalid. Park Dae-chul criticized, "I thought it was colorless and odorless, but it is blue and smelly. Do you admit you were not qualified? If you commit fraudulent admission, the admission is canceled." Jeong Hee-yong scolded, "Passing responsibility to staff is irresponsible behavior," and said, "You lacked basic qualifications." Joo Ho-young of the People Power Party said, "If you were not a Democratic Party member, you probably would not have been appointed," and criticized, "Ordinary people would think badly of this."

However, Im countered, "I inquired with NST before applying and was told there was no problem. I do think there might be an issue with the application announcement itself," and explained, "According to appointment regulations, after appointment, to carry out fair work, one should not be affiliated with a political party, which I understood and applied accordingly."

Ruling party lawmakers also came to her defense. Jo Jung-sik of the Democratic Party said, "According to NST bylaws, one should not hold party positions at the time of appointment," and argued, "The intent and content mean that if the candidate was recommended as chairperson, it does not matter, so there is no problem." Han Jun-ho from the same party also said, "The eligibility criteria for application state that the person should not be affiliated with a political party, but this refers to the chairperson's qualifications, not the applicant's conditions," and denied any issue.

Minister of Science and ICT nominee Lim Hye-sook is adjusting her glasses while attending the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the 4th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

◇ Plagiarism allegations, "Shameless" vs. "No problem at all"

The most intense controversy at the hearing was over Im's alleged plagiarism in her papers. Heo Eun-ah of the People Power Party displayed identical parts of papers by Im, her spouse, and her students on the screen one by one, calling her "a shameless figure who should not have become minister or NST chairperson," and said, "Resigning immediately is the way to repay the salary received so far." She also said, "Are you trying to pin plagiarism allegations on your students because of your ministerial ambition? You are no different from Professor Cho Kuk." Joo Ho-young criticized, "If the minister in charge of establishing research ethics is embroiled in plagiarism allegations, can she perform her duties properly? If she did not plagiarize, it means she turned a blind eye to her students plagiarizing."

However, Im used the questioning time from Kim Sang-hee of the Democratic Party to refute these points one by one. Regarding the allegation that she provided 'paper assistance' to her spouse, she explained, "He played a significant role by providing core ideas, so his name was included," and said, "My spouse has excellent mathematical skills, and we have helped each other." Regarding the student's plagiarism controversy, she explained, "In science and engineering, research cannot be done alone; students perform tasks like testing algorithms and extracting data," and "Therefore, most papers are joint research. Students compile all research conducted during their degree program into papers. Hence, it is common for theses and academic papers to be identical. This is academically encouraged even in science and engineering."

Ruling party lawmakers also supported Im with arguments such as, "Marie Curie also conducted research with her spouse and made great inventions" (Han Jun-ho), and "It is unreasonable to criticize just because the spouse co-researched and co-authored papers" (Hong Ik-pyo).