Reducing Remarks and Soothing Tone... Opposition: "Seems Like a Political Strategy"
"Since Yoon In-chon Stays Quiet, Kim Haeng Causes More Controversy"
President Yoon Suk-yeol approved the appointment of Yoo In-chon as Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism on the 7th, drawing attention to the strategy employed during the parliamentary confirmation hearing.
Criticism arose over Kim Haeng, the nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family, leaving the confirmation hearing room, which caused the hearing for Yoo In-chon held on the same day to receive relatively less attention.
In political circles, it is analyzed that Yoo deliberately reduced his remarks and adopted a mild attitude as a political strategy to prevent negative issues about himself from escalating.
Kim’s hearing on the 5th ended in disruption as she left the hearing room. The opposition strongly criticized her departure, and even within the ruling party, there were comments such as "There should be a main figure for the hearing, but it is unnatural that the ministerial nominee, the main figure, left and did not return" (Rep. Kim Jae-won), sparking significant controversy.
Yoo’s hearing was also briefly suspended due to disputes between the ruling and opposition parties, but as Kim’s hearing became a bigger controversy, Yoo’s hearing lost the spotlight.
Kim Geun-sik, former head of the People Power Party’s Vision and Strategy Office, said on the afternoon of the 5th on MBN’s 'Politics Wide,' "Since the hearings were held on the same day and Kim Haeng’s hearing was very noisy, Yoo In-chon’s hearing was relatively quiet and conducted in a more dignified manner."
Yoo In-chon, nominee for Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, is taking an oath at the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the 5th. [Image source=Yonhap News]
Besides the hearing, Kim’s negative issues dominated the political scene day after day, leading to a relative reduction in controversy over Yoo. Political circles believe Yoo adopted a strategy of minimizing mentions of his negative issues by reducing the number of his remarks and giving gentle answers.
Former Democratic Party lawmaker Shin Kyung-min said on the afternoon of the 5th on YTN Radio’s 'Issue & People,' "At first, the opposition and media guessed the order of controversy would be Shin Won-sik, Yoo In-chon, and Kim Haeng, but it turned out to be the reverse: Kim Haeng, Shin Won-sik, then Yoo In-chon."
Shin added, "Yoo seems to have prepared a softer response strategy. Since falling behind in the current (topic) ranking is a good thing, I think he is employing this tactical shift."
Former Saenuri Party lawmaker Jung Ok-im also said on 'Issue & People,' "The so-called 'Don’t Vote' controversy in 2008 made him angry once, and it has been mentioned ever since, which served as a learning experience for him. So he is different from someone who has never been through it."
On the 6th, seats for ruling party lawmakers and candidate Kim Haeng were empty at the confirmation hearing for the Minister of Gender Equality and Family held by the National Assembly's Women and Family Committee. [Image source=Yonhap News]
Ryu Ho-jeong, lawmaker of the Justice Party, also said, "Since Yoo stayed quiet, Kim’s news became more controversial."
On the afternoon of the 5th, Ryu appeared on CBS Radio’s 'Park Jae-hong’s One-on-One Match' and said, "When I saw Yoo at the hearing, he didn’t give long answers," adding, "So I inferred that among the three nominees, he is probably the one who listens best to his aides."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
