People Power Party Holds Its Own Public Hearing to Pressure for Resignation
Song Eonseok: "Allegations Snowball... Incompetence Exposed"
The People Power Party held a so-called "public hearing" for Prime Minister nominee Kim Minseok on the 30th, launching additional verification of various allegations. The National Assembly confirmation hearing held on June 24 and 25 was deemed ineffective due to the nominee's insufficient submission of documents and the failure to adopt witnesses, so the party intends to pressure Kim to voluntarily withdraw through its own hearing.
People Power Party floor leader Song Eonseok (third from the right) is seen deep in thought while listening to remarks at the public hearing for Prime Minister nominee Kim Minseok held at the National Assembly on the 30th. Photo by Yonhap News
Song Eonseok, floor leader of the People Power Party, attended the public hearing for nominee Kim hosted by the party at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the morning of the 30th. He stated, "Although Kim Minseok has no income, his assets have continued to increase, and suspicions regarding gift taxes, cabbage farming, and the use of the term 'Bandoja' (defector) have snowballed." He further criticized, "He has demonstrated incompetence by not knowing the national budget or the national debt ratio."
He continued, "We will gather voices from all sectors to verify, in the name of the people, whether Kim Minseok is qualified to manage state affairs," emphasizing, "The people will judge."
Attendees at the public hearing included accountant Kim Kyungryul, Kim Daehee (president of the Pyeongchang County Association of Korean Rural Leaders), Nam Sungwook (professor of North Korean Studies at Korea University), former National Education Commissioner Park Soyoung, North Korean defector Kim Geumhyeok, and Kim Chaesu (chairman of the People Power Party Central University Student Committee).
Song stated, "The two-day confirmation hearing only served to confirm public anger and frustration," adding, "It seems Kim Minseok thinks he can simply insist and get away with it. He did not display even the minimum qualifications or attitude required of a public official nominee."
He went on to say, "The Democratic Party of Korea admitted to being a mere mouthpiece of an administration that only follows the will of President Lee Jaemyung, as it continued to shield Kim Minseok to the end." He emphasized, "If someone as unethical as Kim Minseok is appointed as Prime Minister, no future confirmation hearing will have any meaning. If the upper stream is polluted, we cannot expect the lower stream to be clean."
A "discarded cabbage" was also brought to the public hearing. Previously, when suspicions arose that Kim Minseok had received 4.5 million won per month in U.S. study expenses from Kang Shinsung, who had previously provided illegal political funds, Kim explained that the funds were returns on an investment in cabbage farming. The cabbage was presented as a critique of this explanation.
Kim Daehee, who farms cabbages, responded to a question from People Power Party lawmaker Kim Heejung, who asked, "Is it possible that nominee Kim invested 200 million won, received 4.5 million won per month over about three years, and got his investment back?" Kim Daehee replied, "I also farm, but I have never heard of such a thing."
Kim Daehee further explained, "(With cabbage farming) money only comes in on the day of harvest, or maybe for one or two days," adding, "There is no guarantee of how much profit per pyeong (3.3 square meters) you will make from cabbages. I cannot understand how nominee Kim could have received monthly payments from a cabbage investment."
Prime Minister nominee Minseok Kim is temporarily leaving the candidate seat as the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly in Seoul on the 25th continues to be disrupted due to conflicts between the ruling and opposition parties over the submission of documents. Photo by Yonhap News
Accountant Kim Kyungryul pointed out, "One of the characteristics of nominee Kim's hearing is the absence of account information and witnesses," and added, "People call nominee Kim the 'second Cho Kuk,' but if that's the case, Cho Kuk would have reason to feel wronged."
Kim Geumhyeok criticized nominee Kim for referring to North Korean defectors as "Bandoja" in his master's thesis at Tsinghua University in China. Kim Geumhyeok said, "Bandoja only means 'someone who betrays and flees,' and has no other meaning. It is an unfamiliar term even in China and is never used. Only North Korea refers to defectors as traitors."
Professor Nam Sungwook mentioned that the plagiarism rate in nominee Kim's thesis exceeds 40%, stating, "At Korea University, if a student's thesis has a plagiarism rate of 10% or 15%, it is not even considered for review. The standard for master's theses is 7-8%, and for doctoral theses, it is even lower at 5-6%."
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