FTC chief nominee denies ethical lapses

Kim Sang-jo, South Korea’s nominee for the chairman of its anti-trust regulator, rebutted allegations that he copied one of his academic research papers in 2000 during a parliamentary confirmation hearing Friday.

Dubbed “chaebol sniper” for his longtime shareholder activism, the economics professor at Hansung University is a key figure in President Moon Jae-in’s drive to reform chaebol as the head of the Fair Trade Commission.

Although Kim’s appointment does not require parliamentary consent, the parliamentary hearing is an important process to gauge the nominee’s policy stance and ethical qualifications.

Opposition party members zeroed in on Kim’s alleged false address registration and the issue related to his academic research paper, while Kim expressed his stance on some key policy directions such as his opposition to the FTC holding exclusive right to seek for prosecutorial procedure in fair trade violation cases.

Rep. Kim Jong-seok of the opposition Liberty Korea Party took issue with the nominee’s paper published in the Korean Journal of Labor Studies in 2000. It had shared content with a different research paper that was jointly produced by Kim and other researchers under the commission of the tripartite labor, management and government committee.

“As it was written in 2000, it could be insufficient based on current ethical standards. But I want to make clear that the paper was published on the request of the two other researchers. The paper was also approved by the tripartite committee,” Kim Sang-jo said during the nationally televised parliamentary hearing.

Rep. Kim Seong-won of the Liberty Korea Party raised allegations that Kim Sang-jo’s family intentionally used a false address in 2004 for real estate speculation in affluent southern Seoul, However, Kim Sang- jo said he actually moved there to help treat his wife, who was diagnosed with second-stage colon cancer at a nearby hospital.

“If I had kept a contract paper, it would have been easier to clarify but unfortunately I don’t have it. But I have kept my bills for apartment maintenance (which can prove my residence),” said Kim Sang-jo.

Registering an address without actually living in a place is an infamous practice in South Korea among those seeking to fast-track real estate investments or apply for preferred school zones with high scholastic performance records. False address registrations have also long been a frequent attacking point used by lawmakers against a government post nominee.

Meanwhile, the nominee said he will not go against the stance of President Moon, who is reportedly opposed to the adoption of an intermediate financial holding company system, mandating conglomerates with more than three financial companies to establish an intermediate financial holding firm.

Kim had originally supported the adoption of the system, which civic groups say will only benefit chaebol to transfer controlling power to heirs.

Rep. Park Yong-jin of the Democratic Party of Korea asked him to clarify his stance, and Kim said he would “seek sufficient discussion with the National Assembly” and refrain from going against the stance of the ruling party and President Moon.

Kim also denied allegation that his wife received a favor when getting a job as an English language instructor at a high school in 2013 despite her English proficiency test score reading below the requirement. He said there was a mistake in administrative procedure at the school.

On suspicions that he allegedly omitted reporting of his income from outside lectures to avoid taxation, he said even if there might have been some omission, it was not intentional.

By Kim Yoon-mi (yoonmi@heraldcorp.com)