On January 18, members of the People Power Party belonging to the National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee announced that they would completely boycott the National Assembly confirmation hearing for Lee Hyehun, nominee for Minister of Planning and Budget.
Lee Hyehun, nominee for Minister of Planning and Budget, is responding to reporters' questions as he arrives at the hearing preparation office set up at the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 8th. Photo by Yonhap News
At a press conference held at the National Assembly that day, the People Power Party members of the Planning and Finance Committee declared, "We will fully boycott the confirmation hearing for this nominee, who is a 'lawbreaker,'" and added, "This nominee should not be sitting at a National Assembly hearing, but rather in the seat of a suspect before investigative authorities."
They continued, "This nominee is an unprecedented collection of comprehensive corruption," and argued, "With allegations of abuse of power, real estate speculation, investment in high-interest lending companies under her son's name, evasion of gift taxes, preferential treatment for her children in university admissions, military service, and employment, requests for investigation favors, and attempts to defeat political opponents-nearly 100 suspicions, with four to five emerging each day-her qualifications as a high-ranking public official have already been revoked."
They further stated, "Both the ruling and opposition parties clearly agreed that if the submitted materials are insufficient to verify the suspicions, the schedule would be postponed," and criticized, "However, the nominee has still not submitted any additional materials, citing personal information as an excuse, and the ruling party is unilaterally pushing ahead with the hearing on the 19th."
Addressing President Lee Jaemyung, they said, "If you ignore the people and push ahead with the appointment, it will only add one more person accused of fraud to the 'government of ex-convicts,'" and added, "Neither the People Power Party nor any citizen will recognize this nominee as a minister."
Park Sooyoung, the People Power Party member serving as the opposition secretary of the Planning and Finance Committee, met with reporters after the press conference and explained the status of negotiations between the parties: "I have been in continuous contact with the ruling party secretary over the weekend and met in person. We met and discussed again today, but our positions remain at an impasse."
He added, "We requested a certificate proving full payment of the gift tax for the nominee's three children, but no documents have been submitted so far," and continued, "Regarding all matters concerning the three children, the nominee claims that since they are adults and have not consented to the provision of personal information, the documents cannot be provided."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
