Joo Jinwoo: "Lee Jaemyung's Cabinet Is a 'People's Oppression Government'... Problematic for Officials to Be Strong Against the Weak"

Controversy Over Qualifications of Gender Equality and Education Minister Nominees Spreads
"It's Not Too Late... Time for a Direct Decision," Urged

Joo Jinwoo, a member of the People Power Party, fiercely criticized the first cabinet of President Lee Jaemyung, whose outline has been revealed, calling it the "People's Oppression Government."

Joo Jinwoo, a member of the People Power Party, fiercely criticized the first cabinet of President Lee Jae-myung, whose outline has been revealed, calling it the "People's Oppression Government."

On July 11, Joo posted on his social networking service (SNS), listing suspicions regarding Kang Sunwoo, nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family, and Lee Jinsook, nominee for Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education. He warned, "It is problematic for high-ranking officials to be strong against the weak and weak against the strong."

Kang Sunwoo, the nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family, is arriving at the hearing preparation office set up in Ima Building, Jongno-gu, Seoul last month to prepare for the confirmation hearing, sharing her thoughts with the press.

Regarding the allegations of abuse of power by Kang Sunwoo, he stated, "The abuse of power allegations against Kang Sunwoo were exposed internally by one of her aides. Although Kang claimed she had never made her aides do household chores, this was revealed to be a false explanation within a day." He added, "Nevertheless, the Democratic Party is portraying the whistleblowing aide as a problematic person. This constitutes secondary harm to the weaker party."

Lee Jinsook, nominee for Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, arrived last month at the hearing preparation office set up at the Korea Educational Facilities Safety Institute in Yeouido, Seoul, and responded to questions from the press.

On the plagiarism allegations surrounding Lee Jinsook, Joo argued, "The plagiarism of a student's thesis by Lee Jinsook is also a form of abuse of power. The student cannot even protest." He continued, "Now, the Democratic Party is insisting that Lee was listed as a primary author because she was heavily involved in the thesis."

Joo further stated, "If that is the case, then the research ethics of the thesis, which was previously submitted solely under the student's name, come into question. This is because a student who only contributed partially would have presented the thesis as if they wrote it entirely by themselves."

He also said, "There are new reports that research funds were obtained using the student's thesis. This means that, in addition to stealing the student's efforts, they have also misappropriated taxpayers' money." He raised the level of criticism by stating, "In order to defend herself, Lee is now inflicting secondary harm on her students."

Joo pressed both nominees to voluntarily step down, saying, "This is a new phase. The longer they hold out, the more this administration's momentum will decline. I believe a decision from both nominees is imminent."

Meanwhile, Lee Jinsook is under suspicion for having published more than ten of her student's theses in academic journals without proper attribution during her time as a professor at Chungnam National University. Evidence has emerged that she even copied sentence errors and awkward phrasing as they were. Additional allegations against Lee include repeated publication of the same thesis, her second daughter's illegal early overseas study, and involvement in the process of increasing the number of students at Chungnam National University Medical School, which was subject to an audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection.

Kang Sunwoo is also facing controversy over her internal personnel management, as it was revealed that she replaced more than 50 aides during her five years as a member of the National Assembly. In addition to allegations that she assigned personal tasks to some aides, there are now suspicions that she received split political donations from an executive of the Ssangbangwool Group.