On July 30, the National Assembly adopted the progress reports on the confirmation hearings for Kim Yoonduk, nominee for Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and Choi Hwiyeong, nominee for Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
The National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee held a plenary session that day and approved the adoption of the confirmation hearing report for nominee Kim.
On the 30th, the plenary meeting of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee passed the adoption of the personnel hearing result report for Choi Hwiyoung, the nominee for Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Yonhap News
The confirmation hearing report included both opinions of qualification and disqualification. Park Jungha, a member of the People Power Party, stated, "During yesterday's hearing, I requested a clear explanation regarding the nominee's overseas remittance records and the process by which Choi's eldest daughter joined Wave Media, a U.S. subsidiary of Naver, in 2016. Please resolve these issues to our satisfaction."
During Choi's confirmation hearing held on the 29th, there was heated debate over allegations that his child benefited from a so-called 'dad's chance' in employment. Choi stated, "My daughter, while in her fourth year of university in October 2015, was accepted by a global accounting firm, and before starting work, she did part-time market research at Naver. It seems that was when she learned Naver was establishing an entertainment startup in the United States," adding, "I was not involved at all in my daughter's employment."
Choi is an expert in information technology and platform industries. Since 2002, he worked at NHN, the predecessor of Naver, and served as CEO. In 2016, he founded and operated the travel platform 'Triple,' and in 2022, he was appointed CEO of Interpark. Last year, he became co-CEO of Nol Universe, the merged company.
Previously, the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee also approved the adoption of the confirmation hearing report for nominee Kim Yoonduk during its plenary session that day.
Maeng Sungkyu, chair of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee and a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated, "Based on his extensive political experience and policy capabilities, he is expected to lead policy initiatives, and his high level of understanding of regional issues makes him a suitable candidate to actively promote balanced regional development. However, we also noted that the materials submitted were insufficient, his explanations were not fully satisfactory, and he did not demonstrate sufficient expertise in matters under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Both opinions of qualification and disqualification have been reflected."
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