Candidate Lee Jin-suk for KCC Chairperson Faces Opposition Calls for Immediate Resignation, Ruling Party Labels Hearing 'Abnormal'

'After Three Days of Hearings,' Aftershocks Continue
Opposition Science and ICT Committee Members Conduct On-Site Inspection at Daejeon MBC

The Democratic Party of Korea on the 27th urged Lee Jin-sook, the nominee for the Chairperson of the Korea Communications Commission, who completed a three-day confirmation hearing, to "resign immediately as she is unfit not only for the position of Chairperson of the Communications Commission but for any public office."

Han Min-soo, spokesperson for the Democratic Party, said in a briefing that day, "The National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee extended the hearing period to three days to thoroughly verify the endless suspicions raised against nominee Lee, but we could not hear any proper explanations."

Spokesperson Han pointed out allegations raised during the hearing regarding misuse of corporate credit cards, saying, "Nominee Lee consistently responded like a parrot, saying 'I will not answer individual cases,' or repeated 'I do not remember' and 'I spent it appropriately for official duties'."

He added, "Nominee Lee failed to clarify any of the suspicions and only revealed an extreme right-wing perspective repeatedly," and said, "President Yoon Seok-yeol should bow his head and apologize for nominating an unqualified person."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the same day, the Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee visited Daejeon MBC to conduct an on-site inspection to verify the corporate credit card usage details during nominee Lee’s tenure as president. Participating in this were Democratic Party floor leader Kim Hyun and lawmakers Noh Jong-myeon, Lee Jeong-heon, and Hwang Jeong-ah.

The ruling party strongly criticized the opposition’s on-site inspection. Park Jun-tae, floor spokesperson for the People Power Party, criticized the committee’s visit to Daejeon MBC to check nominee Lee’s corporate credit card details, calling it "a disguised 'fourth day of the hearing' and a show of force by the massive opposition party to intimidate the public broadcaster."

Spokesperson Park pointed out, "At the center of this 'abnormal hearing' is Committee Chairperson Choi Min-hee," and said, "She abused her authority by forcing an apology, arbitrarily extended the hearing period, and did not hesitate to make rude remarks such as saying nominee Lee has 'a problem with her brain structure.'"

Senior spokesperson Yoon Hee-seok also criticized Chairperson Choi’s 'brain structure' remark in a commentary, saying, "How can such a mocking and low-level comment come out during a confirmation hearing that is supposed to verify the candidate’s qualifications?"