National Assembly Confirmation Hearing for Culture Minister Nominee Choi Hwiyoung to Be Held on 29th

No Witnesses or References Selected

The National Assembly confirmation hearing for Choi Hwiyoung, the nominee for Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, will be held on the 29th of this month.

Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister nominee Choi Hwiyoung expresses his thoughts as he arrives for his first day at the confirmation hearing preparation office set up at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 14th. Photo by Jo Yongjun

The Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee adopted a plan for the confirmation hearing at a plenary session on the 22nd.

Witnesses and references for the hearing were not selected due to a failure to reach an agreement between the ruling and opposition party secretaries. Park Jungha, a People Power Party lawmaker and opposition secretary of the committee, stated, "It will be difficult to avoid criticism that the hearing is a hollow personnel verification without witnesses or references," and added, "We express serious regret toward the Democratic Party."

Kim Seungsoo, another member of the same party, said, "Of the 87 requested documents, only 16 have been submitted so far, and even those lack proper content," insisting, "This is a blind hearing where even the most basic information about the candidate's family cannot be identified."

Park Soohyun, a Democratic Party lawmaker, said, "The opposition's request to call the candidate's family, including children, as witnesses negatively affected the overall decision," and added, "Instead of having witnesses or references, I hope the nominee will actively respond to requests for document submission."

Nominee Choi is a former journalist and an expert in information technology (IT) and tourism, having previously served as CEO of NHN, the country's largest online portal.