Kim Seung-won and Yong Hye-in's Political Futures Draw Attention Ahead of Lee's Return... Even Ruling Camp Calls for a "Decision"

[Financial News] Political circles are closely watching President Lee Jae Myung's personnel plans as he returns home after a state visit to France. Controversies surrounding Kim Seung-won, nominee for minister of justice, and Yong Hye-in, nominee for minister of gender equality and family, have intensified during Lee's overseas trip. The ruling camp appears intent on defending both nominees and waiting until the confirmation hearings, while the opposition is pressing for their nominations to be withdrawn. Attention is therefore focused on whether the political atmosphere will shift after Lee returns.
According to political sources on the 9th, allegations that Kim solicited approval for a clinical trial of a new drug have escalated into a confrontation between the ruling and opposition camps as the opposition continues to make additional disclosures. Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon has stepped up his offensive by successively releasing recordings of phone calls involving an individual identified by the surname Yang, who has been named as a broker.
The People Power Party leadership is also directly demanding that Lee make a decision. Floor Leader Chung Jeom-sik designated Kim as the top priority among the ministerial nominees whose nominations should be withdrawn and urged, "President Lee must withdraw the nomination of lawmaker Kim Seung-won as minister of justice." Recently, he intensified the attack over the allegations concerning approval of the new-drug clinical trial, saying, "It is absurd in itself for a person granted a suspension of indictment to become minister of justice."
As attacks on Kim intensified, the Democratic Party of Korea formed a party-level task force to respond. The team includes Supreme Council members Han Min-soo and Jeon Yong-gi, spokesperson Cho Gye-won, and lawmaker Kim Dong-ah of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly. The party leadership maintains that the opposition's allegations are political attacks and that the facts should be verified through a confirmation hearing.
The central issue surrounding Yong is whether she will retain her parliamentary seat. Yong has stated that she intends to keep her seat even if she is appointed minister. The opposition has questioned whether she is seeking to retain the seat so that the Basic Income Party can continue receiving state subsidies.
Yong is under additional pressure because calls for her to make a public decision have emerged even within the ruling camp. Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Kwang-jae said, "If you want to serve as a minister, it would be better to resign from the National Assembly," adding, "I hope you will make a bold decision befitting a young person." Democratic Party lawmaker Song Young-gil also criticized her, saying, "Anyone would see it as greed to insist on continuing as a lawmaker while being appointed minister."
The controversy is also spreading to the issue of satellite parties, as attention has focused on the fact that Yong entered the National Assembly through the Democratic Party of Korea's proportional-representation satellite party before returning to the Basic Income Party. The People Power Party is pursuing an amendment to the Political Funds Act that would exclude from state-subsidy allocations those who are elected as proportional-representation lawmakers of another party and then return to their original party. So far, no signs of change regarding the political futures of the two nominees have been detected at the Presidential Office.
The key question is whether Lee will carry both nominees through the confirmation hearings even after returning home. As additional allegations surrounding Kim and the controversy over Yong's retention of her parliamentary seat continue, Lee's decision on whether to maintain his existing personnel policy or act in response to public opinion is emerging as a key variable in the political landscape at the beginning of the regular session of the National Assembly.

[email protected] Kim Kyung-min Reporter