Lee Jae-myung Government's First Cabinet Hearing Begins... Ruling and Opposition Parties Predict Strong Confrontation

[Financial News] The personnel hearings for the ministerial candidates of the first cabinet of the Lee Jae-myung government will officially begin this week. The so-called 'Hearing Super Week' is opening. The ruling Democratic Party, as the personnel hearings are also linked to the issue of political dominance, continues to support each candidate with the goal of full approval. On the other hand, the People Power Party plans to highlight the suspicions raised both inside and outside and conduct thorough verification, indicating a full-scale confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties.
According to political circles on the 13th, the National Assembly will conduct personnel hearings for 16 ministerial candidates of the first cabinet of the Lee Jae-myung government from the 14th to the 18th.
On the 14th, hearings are scheduled for Kang Sun-woo, Minister of Gender Equality and Family candidate, Bae Kyung-hoon, Minister of Science and ICT candidate, Jeon Jae-soo, Minister of Oceans and Fisheries candidate, and Chung Dong-young, Minister of Unification candidate.
On the 15th, hearings will be held for Kwon Oh-eul, Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs candidate, Han Sung-sook, Minister of SMEs and Startups candidate, Kim Sung-hwan, Minister of Environment candidate, and Ahn Kyu-baek, Minister of National Defense candidate. On the 16th, hearings are scheduled for Chung Sung-ho, Minister of Justice candidate, Kim Young-hoon, Minister of Employment and Labor candidate, and Lee Jin-sook, Minister of Education candidate. On the 17th, hearings are scheduled for Cho Hyun, Minister of Foreign Affairs candidate, Kim Jung-kwan, Minister of Industry candidate, and Koo Yoon-chul, Minister of Strategy and Finance candidate. Also, on the 18th, hearings will be held for Yoon Ho-jung, Minister of Interior and Safety candidate, and Chung Eun-kyung, Minister of Health and Welfare candidate.
Excluding Song Mi-ryeong, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and the recently nominated Kim Yoon-duk, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and Choi Hwi-young, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, hearings for 16 out of 19 ministries' ministerial candidates will be held this week.
The Democratic Party has set a goal of not allowing a single candidate to fall in the ministerial candidate hearings, while the People Power Party plans to launch a full-scale offensive against this. The days predicted to have the fiercest battles between the ruling and opposition parties are the hearings for Kang Sun-woo, Minister of Gender Equality and Family candidate on the 14th, and Lee Jin-sook, Minister of Education candidate on the 16th.
The People Power Party is focusing on allegations of plagiarism and thesis appropriation against Lee Jin-sook candidate, and allegations of power abuse against aides for Kang candidate. On the other hand, the Democratic Party believes that explanations are possible. Democratic Party spokesperson Moon Geum-ju stated in a written briefing, "The allegations of power abuse against Kang Sun-woo, Minister of Gender Equality and Family candidate, are based on unverified content and are merely malicious personal attacks and clear attempts to tarnish reputations."
The presidential office is preparing for the personnel hearings by operating a Personnel Hearing Task Force (TF) with Woo Sang-ho, Senior Secretary for Political Affairs, as the head. The presidential office also plans to respond with the principle of not allowing a single candidate to fall during the hearings. The Personnel Hearing TF is expected to check the allegations raised against each candidate and communicate frequently with the party. 

cjk@fnnews.com Choi Jong-geun, Seo Young-jun reporters