Ruling and Opposition Parties Reach Final Agreement to Hold Lee Hyehoon’s Confirmation Hearing on the 23rd... "Materials to Be Submitted in the Afternoon"

Submission of Documents Related to Allegations Against the Nominee

The ruling and opposition parties have reached a final agreement to hold a confirmation hearing for Lee Hyehoon, nominee for Minister of Planning and Budget, on January 23.

Jeong Taeho, Democratic Party secretary of the National Assembly’s Planning and Budget Committee, announced on January 22, "I have agreed with Park Sooyoung, the People Power Party secretary of the committee, to hold the confirmation hearing tomorrow." A representative from the People Power Party also explained, "The schedule has been coordinated as the nominee’s materials are expected to be submitted this afternoon."

The secretaries of the ruling and opposition parties on the Planning and Budget Committee had conducted negotiations the previous day regarding the submission of key documents related to allegations against the nominee, and conditionally reached an agreement. The documents requested by the People Power Party include: ▲ materials clarifying suspicions regarding gift tax ▲ materials clarifying suspicions of fraudulent apartment subscription for Banpo One Pentas ▲ records of overseas remittances, among others.

The committee had convened a full meeting on January 19 to prepare for the confirmation hearing, but due to issues such as the submission of materials, the nominee was unable to attend, and the proceedings broke down.

Lee Hyehoon, nominee for Minister of Planning and Budget, is responding to reporters' questions at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 19th. The full meeting of the Planning and Budget Committee held that day was adjourned after a dispute between the ruling and opposition parties over whether to hold a confirmation hearing for Minister Lee. January 19, 2026. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

The decision by both parties to proceed with the confirmation hearing for the nominee appears to have been influenced by President Lee Jaemyung’s remarks at his New Year’s press conference the previous day, where he stated, "I wanted to provide an opportunity to publicly hear from the nominee and to listen to the judgment of the public who will watch the confirmation process."

Kim Youngjin, a Democratic Party member of the Planning and Budget Committee, commented on the confirmation hearing, saying, "In addition to issues regarding the nominee’s personal morality and background, we plan to discuss and assess the nominee’s competence in work performance, the level of policy preparation, reasons for any policy direction changes, the Lee Jaemyung administration’s expansionary fiscal economic development, and the nominee’s ability to prepare policies that will support economic growth."