National Assembly Adopts Hearing Report for Lee Hyoung-il by Consensus... Steps Toward Appointment as Deputy Prime Minister

[Financial News] On the 17th, the ruling and opposition parties agreed to adopt the confirmation hearing report for Lee Hyoung-il, nominee for Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance (picture), by consensus.
The National Assembly Planning and Finance Committee held a plenary session this morning and adopted the confirmation hearing report for nominee Lee.
Rep. Bae Jun-young of the People Power Party, the opposition party's floor leader, stated, "Many of the issues and concerns raised have not been definitively resolved," but added, "I agree that an economic control tower is needed to fulfill the duty of restoring the struggling economy to normalcy as soon as possible."
Rep. Bae said, "I ask nominee Lee to promise to actively address the concerns and issues raised by the People Power Party," adding, "I ask the chair of the Planning and Finance Committee to supervise the Minister of Economy and Finance so that he can faithfully keep this promise."
Accordingly, President Lee Jae Myung is expected to appoint the nominee as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance soon.
At the confirmation hearing held on the 15th, the ruling and opposition parties clashed over the controversy surrounding the nominee's 'non-resident single home' and the 'Future Response Fund.'
Regarding the controversy over the non-resident single home, nominee Lee apologized, saying, "I sincerely regret causing concern to the public over my non-resident home." In response to the opposition's concerns about the Future Response Fund, he countered, "It is not slush money."
Born in 1971, nominee Lee graduated from Daegu Gyeongsang High School and Seoul National University's Department of Economics, and entered public service through the 36th Civil Service Examination. He is regarded as an economic policy expert who held key positions in the macroeconomic field, including director of the Economic Analysis Division, director of the Comprehensive Policy Division, and director of the Economic Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
He was appointed commissioner of Statistics Korea in 2023 and was selected as the first vice minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance in June last year with the launch of the Lee Jae Myung administration. Following the government reorganization in January this year, he has served as the inaugural first vice minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

[email protected] Kim Kyung-min Reporter