Personnel hearing to proceed until the 26th as proposed by the opposition party
Ruling party says "Who decides?" and walks out... Opposition passes resolution alone
The National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee extended the confirmation hearing for nominee Lee Jin-sook, Chairperson of the Korea Communications Commission, by one more day. The ruling party protested, saying it was unprecedented, and left the session before the vote.
On the 25th, the Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee of the National Assembly added an agenda item titled "Change of Confirmation Hearing Implementation Plan," which led to opposition from ruling party members who then left the session. The agenda was passed solely by the opposition party. The confirmation hearing, originally scheduled for the 24th and 25th, is now set to continue on the 26th as well.
Opposition lawmakers argued that the nominee's submission of materials was insufficient and that the hearing needed to be extended. Choi Min-hee, chairperson of the committee and a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated, "On the previous day, Representative Noh Jong-myeon proposed extending the hearing if the nominee did not submit the materials. We requested the submission of documents related to the nominee’s children's school admissions, foreign exchange, immigration, stock trading, and cryptocurrency trading by 11:59 a.m. today (the 25th), but the materials have not been received."
In response, ruling party members protested, saying this was unprecedented. Park Jeong-hoon, a member of the People Power Party, said, "There have been cases in past hearings where materials were not submitted. If verification materials are insufficient, they can be received in writing and referenced when drafting the hearing report." He then asked, "Is there any precedent for holding a confirmation hearing for three days?"
Choi replied, "There is no precedent for a three-day hearing, but there has never been a nominee like this one," leading to a heated exchange.
Park said, "Doing this much can only be seen as an attempt at a public opinion trial."
Shin Seong-beom, also from the People Power Party, protested, saying, "According to the agreement between the ruling and opposition party floor leaders, the schedule was reported to the floor leaders, so who is deciding to extend it by one more day on their own?"
Chairperson Choi responded, "I requested the Speaker of the National Assembly to extend the hearing, and the approval just arrived."
Despite the ruling party’s protests, when the committee attempted to proceed with the vote on the agenda, the ruling party members left the session. The remaining opposition members unanimously approved the agenda to extend the confirmation hearing until the 26th.
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