Main opposition warns of tough confirmation hearings

The main opposition Liberty Korea Party is promising tough hearings for President Moon Jae-in’s personnel choices, raising issues against ministerial candidates ahead of the first hearing Wednesday.

“The president personally making the announcements cannot hide the essence (of personnel selection) that is their (the nominees) qualifications and suitability,” Liberty Korea Party policy committee chief Rep. Lee Hyun-jae said.

Claiming that the Democratic Party of Korea had in the past focused on the “small personal flaws” of previous administrations’ candidates, Lee said that his party will apply “stricter and more exact standards” than the ruling party.

In announcing the direction his party will take in the upcoming hearings, Lee said that the party will “actively refer” to the “five principles” stated by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea.

The Democratic Party previously stated that it would exclude individuals with suspected involvement in avoiding military service, real estate speculation, tax fraud, plagiarism and using false addresses for personal gains from public office.

The first to go under parliamentary scrutiny will be prime ministerial candidate Lee Nak-yon, who the main opposition claims requires “microscopic verification.”

The ruling party has so far laid nearly a dozen allegations against Lee, a former four-term lawmaker and South Jeolla Province governor. The allegations include Lee’s son evading taxes and military service and Jeonnam Development Corp. purchasing his wife’s paintings at unfairly high prices.

Lee’s wife Kim Sook-hee is an art teacher-turned-painter and the Jeonnam Development Corp. purchased two of her paintings in 2013 for 9 million won ($8,000).

The main opposition has also raised issues against Kang Kyung-hwa, the senior policy adviser to the UN secretary-general tapped to lead Seoul’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, citing her daughter’s nationality. Kang’s daughter was born in 1984 in the US and has since taken US nationality. When the daughter was at high school age, however, she was registered to an address she was not a resident of. Kang has since told reporters that the allegations are true and that she informed the presidential office on related issues before she was nominated.

“(The issues) were reported to Cheong Wa Dae during the candidate verification process,” Kang told reporters in New York. She added that she will elaborate on related issues at her confirmation hearing.

Regarding the news that her daughter has decided to drop her US citizenship, Kang said that she was not fully aware of the situation and that she needs to speak to her family.

Kang’s husband, Yonsei University professor emeritus Lee Yill-byung, has been quoted by the local media as saying that he had spoken with his daughter and that she had decided to regain South Korea citizenship.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)