President Lee Pushes Ahead with Kang Sunwoo’s Appointment, Requests Resubmission of Confirmation Report by 24th

Request for Reports on Ahn Kyubaek (Defense), Kwon Oeul (Patriots and Veterans Affairs), and Chung Dongyoung (Unification) Nominees Also Made
Presidential Office: "Deadline Set for the 24th to Ensure Swift Stabilization of State Affairs"
Concerns Persist Among Some Democratic Party Members
Lee Soyoung Criticizes Defense of Kang Sunwoo: "Insensitive to Labor Issues"

President Lee Jaemyung has decided to push ahead with the appointment of Kang Sunwoo, the nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family, who has been embroiled in a controversy over alleged abuse of power. Despite criticism from both the People Power Party and some members of the ruling Democratic Party, as well as concerns expressed by progressive women's and civic groups?traditionally allies of the ruling party?President Lee ultimately did not back down from his decision.

Yonhap News Agency

On July 22, presidential spokesperson Kang Yujeong announced during a briefing at the Yongsan presidential office that the administration had requested the National Assembly to resend the confirmation hearing reports for Kang Sunwoo, Ahn Kyubaek (Minister of National Defense nominee), Kwon Oeul (Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs nominee), and Chung Dongyoung (Minister of Unification nominee) by July 24. Kang stated, "We have requested the deadline of the 24th in order to complete the appointments within this week and swiftly stabilize state affairs," adding, "The deadline was set after considering the re-request period stipulated in Article 6 of the Confirmation Hearing Act, previous cases, and the fact that the deadline for the Ministers of National Defense and Patriots and Veterans Affairs is this Saturday (the 26th)."

For Kang Sunwoo, the confirmation hearing was held on July 14, but the adoption of the hearing report was blocked by the People Power Party. As a result, President Lee is expected to proceed with the appointments of all four nominees, including Kang, within this week. The shortened deadline for resubmission appears to reflect the administration’s intention to finalize the transition from the Yoon Sukyeol cabinet?without a transition committee?within approximately 50 days of taking office.

According to the Confirmation Hearing Act, the National Assembly must complete the confirmation hearing within 20 days of receiving the request. If the hearing report is not adopted within this period, the president may request resubmission within a specified period of up to 10 days. If the report is still not adopted within the resubmission period, the president may appoint the ministerial nominee.

During the confirmation process, Kang Sunwoo faced intense scrutiny over allegations of abusing her aides and providing false explanations. As a sitting lawmaker, Kang was accused of instructing her aides to handle personal tasks such as taking out household trash and repairing toilets, which led to the abuse of power controversy. The criticism intensified when, after initially claiming it was a "simple misunderstanding" during the hearing, additional Telegram conversations with her aides were made public, fueling accusations of a "false explanation."

On the previous day (July 21), testimony emerged from Chung Youngae, former Minister of Gender Equality and Family under the Moon Jaein administration. In a statement released through an acquaintance, Chung alleged that Kang Sunwoo, in 2021, became angry and attempted to cut the budget after Chung failed to address a constituent complaint from Kang’s former district, reportedly saying, "If I tell you to do it, just do it?why so many words?" According to Chung, she later visited Kang’s office to apologize, ultimately preventing the budget cut. In her statement, Chung said, "It is outrageous to send a lawmaker who tried to cut an unrelated budget because a minister couldn’t resolve a district complaint back to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family as minister."

Within the ruling party, there have been statements defending Kang Sunwoo. Park Sanghyuk, chief spokesperson of the Democratic Party, told reporters the previous day, "Kang explained what was necessary during the hearing and apologized in the process," adding, "Now, she should be evaluated based on her performance." Kim Hyunjung, floor spokesperson, said, "Abuse of power is relative and subjective, so it is problematic to make a judgment based solely on one side’s account," noting that other facts are also being confirmed.

Moon Jinseok, deputy floor leader for operations of the Democratic Party, also commented on CBS’s Kim Hyunjung’s News Show that day, "Abuse of power in a typical workplace and in the relationship between lawmakers and aides is somewhat different in nature," explaining, "Lawmakers and aides have a comrade-like relationship, and if the relationship is not smooth, conflicts can arise, which may escalate into abuse of power."

In response, Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Soyoung expressed disagreement with Moon Jinseok’s remarks that the lawmaker-aide relationship is different from that of a typical workplace. In a Facebook post, Lee wrote, "Today, one lawmaker claimed that the relationship between lawmakers and aides is fundamentally different from that of a typical workplace, but I do not agree," adding, "Both relationships involve one party holding personnel authority and a hierarchy, so they are essentially the same."

Lee continued, "This is why we prohibit unfair orders by law," and added, "If a person with personnel authority believes that the relationship is so close and comradely that the other party accepted the order voluntarily and without complaint, there is a high chance this is a misconception. I believe this is a matter of common sense for the public."