Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism nominee Yoon In-chon is answering reporters' questions while riding a bicycle to his nominee office in Jongno-gu, Seoul.
Yoo In-chon, the nominee for Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, stated that there was no 'blacklist' in the cultural and artistic sectors during the Lee Myung-bak (MB) administration.
On the 3rd, Yoo responded to opposition lawmakers' questions claiming that there was a blacklist during the Lee Myung-bak administration in his written answers submitted to the National Assembly for the confirmation hearing.
When asked whether he agreed that an investigation into the blacklist was necessary, Yoo said, "There was no blacklist during the Lee Myung-bak administration, so a separate investigation or inquiry is unnecessary."
Regarding allegations that he pressured agency heads to resign while serving as Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2008, Yoo explained, "I did not collectively urge agency heads appointed by the previous administration to resign."
Yoo also stated, "I did not exclude support for any specific organizations," adding, "As for subsidies, I understand they were managed according to budget execution guidelines."
Concerning former National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art director Kim Yoon-soo, who stepped down at the time and was affiliated with the Korean Federation of National Artists, Yoo said, "Those agency heads had limitations in terms of operational efficiency and performance," and "Personnel actions were taken after audits found various violations of regulations."
Regarding past controversies over remarks such as 'Don't vote for XX,' Yoo expressed regret over the distortion of statements he did not make, saying, "I regret the misrepresentation of content I did not utter," and added, "I will be cautious with my remarks in the future to prevent further controversies."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
