Yong Hye-in, nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family, voluntarily resigns... Ultimately chooses parliamentary seat over ministerial post

[Financial News] Former Minister of Gender Equality and Family nominee Yong Hye-in voluntarily resigned on the 13th. This came two weeks after she faced various criticisms, including allegations surrounding the Basic Income Party's "Family Party," controversy over her past actions, and her failure to accept the precedent of proportional representation lawmakers resigning when appointed to the cabinet.
Former nominee Yong held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Center that day and announced, "As the nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family in the Lee Jae-myung administration, I sought to create a gender-equal society for everyone. Along with that resolve, I intend to step down from my candidacy for minister today (the 13th)."
She explained the reason for her resignation, stating, "A cabinet member's role is to organically connect the National Assembly and the government and foster cooperation," adding, "I judged that it would be realistically difficult to perform that role in a situation where even the ruling party is expressing concern."
She continued, "The Democratic Party of Korea conveyed its request that the nominee make a decision, while respecting the situation facing the nominee and the Basic Income Party, but taking into account the lack of broad public consensus regarding simultaneously holding a proportional representation seat and a ministerial position." She added, "I judged that stopping here is necessary to carry forward the spirit of solidarity for the future of the democratic and progressive camp, including the Democratic Party of Korea and the Basic Income Party."
Her criticism of the People Power Party and the media remained the same as at the previous press conference. She said, "Over the past two weeks, there has been an endless stream of malicious and distorted reporting by some media outlets that put fact-checking on the back burner and failed even to guarantee the right of reply, alongside conduct by People Power Party lawmakers who, instead of vetting the nominee, mocked and disparaged the difficult circumstances of a minor party."

[email protected] Kim Hyung-gu Reporter