Jin Sungjoon Defends Kim Minseok
"Is This Really a Proper Confirmation Hearing?"
Jin Sungjoon, Policy Committee Chair of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated, "At the confirmation hearings, we must stop wasteful political strife and focus on verifying the candidate's ability to govern and their policy competence," adding, "We will push for an amendment to the Confirmation Hearing Act."
At the Democratic Party's policy coordination meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido on the 19th, Jin said, "The attacks against Prime Minister nominee Kim Minseok have gone too far." He continued, "Confirmation hearings are not a venue for personal attacks or for gaining political advantage," and further explained, "To restore the original purpose and function of the confirmation hearings, we will swiftly promote an amendment to the Confirmation Hearing Act."
He stated, "Nominee Kim endured many years of hardship due to politically motivated prosecutorial investigations, but ultimately regained the public's trust and was re-elected as a member of the National Assembly." He added, "Nevertheless, they are now bringing up accusations that were already proven false a long time ago in order to attack him again."
Jin said, "The People Power Party has gone so far as to question even the nominee's child's extracurricular activities during high school, and insists on calling not only the nominee's current wife but also his ex-wife as witnesses," questioning, "Is this really a normal confirmation hearing?"
He went on to urge, "I call on the People Power Party not to waste the National Assembly's time by trying to tarnish the new government," and added, "Now is the time for everyone to focus all efforts on normalizing the Republic of Korea."
Meanwhile, Jin pledged to expedite the handling of the supplementary budget bill and livelihood-related legislation. He said, "This supplementary budget bill involves 19 ministries and requires review by 13 standing committees," and warned, "If the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts is not formed immediately, there will be no way to process the supplementary budget bill."
He also emphasized, "We must make every effort to pass legislation aimed at restoring people's livelihoods," and added, "The Democratic Party will do its utmost to ensure that, along with the supplementary budget bill, the livelihood bills that were vetoed and those based on bipartisan common pledges are processed during this June's extraordinary session of the National Assembly."
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