Yong Hye-in draws a line against calls for resignation and pushes forward head-on... "Please hold a confirmation hearing"

[Financial News] On the 10th, Yong Hye-in, nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family, expressed her determination to confront the calls for her resignation head-on through the confirmation hearing.
Candidate Yong held an emergency press conference at the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea on this day and directly refuted the various allegations surrounding her, saying, "I believe the appointing authority nominated me because they had expectations of me."
First, she reaffirmed her stance that she would retain her parliamentary seat even if appointed as a minister. Candidate Yong argued, "It is a principle permitted by law for a member of the National Assembly to concurrently serve as a cabinet minister," adding, "We must reflect on whether the custom of resigning from proportional representation seats was perceived among politicians as a form of 'sharing the spoils.'" She implied that she found it difficult to agree to applying a different principle solely to proportional representation lawmakers.
At the same time, she argued that "nominating an incumbent opposition lawmaker as a ministerial candidate is the first instance since the Alliance of DJP under the Kim Dae-jung administration," asserting that the intent of the coalition in nominating the opposition lawmaker should also be examined. However, controversy continued regarding Candidate Yong’s characterization of herself as an "incumbent opposition lawmaker." Candidate Yong entered the National Assembly as a proportional representative in the 2020 and 2024 general elections through the Democratic Party’s satellite parties, Citizen's Party of Korea and Democratic Alliance of Korea, respectively. Following the press conference, questions were raised regarding whether the term "opposition" was appropriate given this background, but Candidate Yong did not provide a separate response.
Regarding allegations of past "underground organization" activities, she admitted, "I have no intention of denying my participation." However, she explained that the organization "disbanded on its own in 2017 due to reasons such as a sexist and hierarchical culture and a lack of competence." Regarding her relationship with Kim Gil-oh, CEO of Korea Boardgames, who was suspected of providing behind-the-scenes support, she drew a line, stating, "I have not been in contact with him since then."
She also refuted allegations that she received state subsidies by creating "phantom city and provincial party chapters." Candidate Yong explained that the structure does not allow for increased subsidies by establishing additional city and provincial party chapters, and clarified that the 150 million won allocated to the chapters was "party dues, not state subsidies."
She also distanced herself from the so-called "family party" controversy regarding the hiring of her spouse as a party official and the payment of a salary. Candidate Yong countered that her spouse worked at the party from June 2020 to August of this year, receiving an average monthly salary of approximately 2.5 million won, excluding parental leave periods, and argued that this was compensation for normal labor. She also claimed that her spouse's parental leave benefits were "received in accordance with laws and systems by meeting the conditions."
She stated that she was aware of the negative public opinion regarding her as well as concerns within the ruling party. While saying, "I am deeply considering and listening to the public's grave concerns and various views," Candidate Yong refuted the criticism that negative public opinion might make it difficult to properly perform the role of minister, calling it "too much of a logical leap." Regarding the various opinions emerging within the Democratic Party concerning her nomination, she drew a line on the possibility of announcing her future, stating, "I have nothing more to say at this stage."
At the same time, she urged the People Power Party to hold the confirmation hearing as soon as possible. Regarding the fact that the scheduled plenary meeting of the Gender Equality and Family Committee was not held because the People Power Party refused to negotiate the hearing schedule, Candidate Yong argued, "This can only be seen as an attempt to avoid having their fabricated speculations and patchwork arguments refuted by the public." She emphasized, "Please hold the confirmation hearing. I will answer faithfully to the public just as I have prepared so far."

[email protected] Song Ji-won Reporter