Forced Employment, Army Officer, and Heavy Rain Golf... Controversy Over Abuse of Power by Assemblywoman Kang Sun-young

"KAI Asked to Consider Army Aviation Corps and Rank"
In Complaint, "Aviation Is More Specialized Than Army Infantry"

Kang Seon-young, a member of the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly from the People Power Party, has been accused of forcing defense companies to hire personnel from specific Army branches. The controversy has escalated as it was revealed that she played golf at a military golf course on the heavy rain day of the 21st of last month.

Recently, Kang posted on her Facebook, "Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) seems to want to confront our office." In the post, Kang mentioned, "During a visit by the National Assembly liaison officer and a rotary-wing advisor from KAI, it was noted that Army aviation personnel have shared hardships throughout the development and mass production of the Surion helicopter, but they are relatively discriminated against in employment opportunities compared to other Army aviation reservists." She added, "I requested that KAI consider Army aviation personnel for specialized positions related to aircraft development."

However, when a complaint arose that she demanded key positions at KAI, Kang posted, "They refuse to acknowledge the obvious fact that Army aviation personnel can be much more specialized than Army infantry or Marine infantry," and "I will investigate the background of those spreading rumors about my office." As the controversy grew, Kang deleted this post. From the industry's perspective, this could be perceived as a message soliciting employment favors. There are also criticisms that this infringes on the company's major management activities.

Moreover, it was revealed that Kang played golf with Army officers from an audited institution during the National Assembly inspection, despite the rainy weather. On the morning of the 21st of last month, Kang visited a golf course operated by the Army in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, accompanied by her aides. On that day, heavy rain caused parts of the golf course to flood, and staff stopped the game. Kang reportedly protested to the golf course staff about this. The 21st was a time when the entire country was under the influence of Typhoon Plasan, with damage reports continuing. Particularly, it was deemed inappropriate that a National Assembly member's office met with officials from an audited institution just before the inspection.

Kang's office stated, "We played golf to inspect the operation status of the golf course." They further explained, "During the 12-hole round, the game was stopped due to rain, and we accepted that and left. However, after showering, we saw the afternoon team was being accepted," and added, "We asked the front desk what the criteria were for stopping our game and why the afternoon team was allowed to play. We asked why the game was stopped when we wanted to play aggressively despite the rain."

Additionally, Kang's office said in a press release, "We consider the act of filing complaints with the military police against Army Headquarters inspectors due to dissatisfaction with criticisms of the fitness center's operation and attempts to slander our office through media play as organized resistance by the audited institution against the inspection." They added, "We will thoroughly verify this during the National Assembly inspection and devise countermeasures, including legal actions."

Regarding the criticism of "playing golf during the flood," Kang wrote on her Facebook, "If it rained that much, shouldn't the golf course have been closed? Is it right to just stop the game temporarily when it rains heavily?" Kang later deleted this post.