"President Lee Might Have Become Somewhat Lax"... Yoo Si-min Opposes Lee Hyehoon Nomination and Prosecution Reform Bill

Yoo Si-min Mentions President Lee in YouTube Discussion with Park Jumin
"Seems to Have Become Somewhat Lax While Absorbed in Other Matters"
"Decision-Making Process Is Different from What Has Been Done So Far"

As the parliamentary confirmation hearing for Lee Hyehoon, the nominee for Minister of Planning and Budget, faces difficulties, former Roh Moo-hyun Foundation Director Yoo Si-min commented, "(President Lee) might have become somewhat lax because he was too absorbed in other matters." Yoo made these remarks during a discussion video released on January 20 through the YouTube channel of Park Jumin, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea.

As the parliamentary confirmation hearing for Lee Hyehoon, the nominee for Minister of Planning and Budget, faces difficulties, former Roh Moo-hyun Foundation Director Yoo Si-min said, "(President Lee) might have become somewhat lax because he was too absorbed in other matters." Park Jumin YouTube

Yoo began by saying, "I think President Lee is doing well, and the Democratic Party is showing its usual characteristics again. Supporting the Democratic Party has always required a lot of effort." He continued, "Lee Jaemyung as a politician is not someone who makes you think, 'I should do something for that person.' Instead, he has a way of making people support him by thinking, 'Maybe I can benefit from that person.' This strength has only increased expectations during the six months since he became president."

However, he indirectly expressed opposition by stating, "When it comes to the nomination of Lee Hyehoon or the pre-announcement of the prosecution reform bill, I think the president might have become somewhat lax in his political judgment because he was too absorbed in other matters."

Yoo also pointed out, "From the outside, we cannot know exactly how the decision-making process occurred regarding the nomination of Lee Hyehoon or the pre-announcement of the prosecution reform bill, but it is clear that the way these decisions were made was somewhat different from how the president has handled things until now." He emphasized, "That is something that should be reviewed."

Independent lawmaker Kang Sunwoo, who is accused of receiving 100 million won from Seoul City Council member Kim Kyung as a bribe for nomination ahead of the 2022 local elections, is appearing at the Public Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Mapo-gu, Seoul on the 20th. Photo by Yonhap News

He also mentioned independent lawmakers Kim Byungki and Kang Sunwoo, who recently left the Democratic Party amid allegations of receiving nomination funds. He said, "This is the dark side that has existed for a long time coming to light," adding, "If such things were widespread in the past, now they seem to be limited to a few cases." He continued, "It's not that something nonexistent is appearing; rather, things that existed before but were hidden are now being exposed. We need to look into whether there are institutional loopholes that keep causing these issues, and if there are problems with the system, they should be fixed."

Nevertheless, he added, "I don't think the Democratic Party has any major problems," and "While there are still many things that need to be improved, it does not seem to be an issue with the party's overall culture."

On the 20th, one day before the deadline for adopting the progress report on the confirmation hearing of Lee Hyehoon, nominee for Minister of Planning and Budget, ruling and opposition members of the National Assembly's Finance and Economy Planning Committee reportedly failed to narrow their differences over the nominee's submission of documents. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

Meanwhile, on January 20, one day before the deadline for adopting the progress report on Lee Hyehoon's confirmation hearing, ruling and opposition members of the National Assembly's Finance and Economy Planning Committee reportedly failed to narrow their differences over the nominee's side's issue of submitting documents.

With the possibility of the confirmation hearing for the nominee falling through increasing, attention is focused on whether President Lee will request the resubmission of the hearing report. According to Channel A, President Lee reportedly said during a dinner with Democratic Party leadership on the evening of January 19, "It was difficult to bring her in, but isn't a confirmation hearing necessary?" in response to concerns about the breakdown of Lee Hyehoon's confirmation hearing.