By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
Prime Minister-nominee Han Seung-soo denied Wednesday the allegation that his family was involved in property speculation.
Han told a National Assembly confirmation hearing that he and his wife have never attempted to speculate on property as Rep. Suh Gab-won of the liberal United Democratic Party (UDP) claimed. He said he and his wife held integrity as a life value. The two-day hearing ends today.
UDP lawmakers focused on suspicions regarding Han's wealth accumulation and claimed the nominee exaggerated the status of his academic positions at two British universities.
Grand National Party (GNP) lawmakers protected Han from the attack. They said as the director of the University of York clarified that the nominee had served as a young professor there, there was no problem with the way he represented the position he held.
Rep. Kim Young-joo of the UDP doggedly asked him why he omitted important career items from his resume submitted to Seoul National University (SNU) while serving as a faculty member.
Giving no direct answer, the nominee said the lawmaker's point in different job titles between the universities in two nations helped many Koreans build awareness of the different employment grades for academics in the two countries.
Rep. Min Byung-do of the UDP raised Han's involvement in a military junta committee controlled by Gen. Chun Doo-hwan after his military coup in 1980 as an advisor on economic issues. Chun took power in the coup after former President Park Chung-hee was assassinated in 1979.
The nominee said he was then a faculty member of SNU and his involvement in the committee was mandatory.
Asked if he would be willing to apologize for his activities with the body, Han declined, saying he now wanted to be relieved from the mental ordeal he had gone through.
Han said he was seeking to receive as much foreign aid from advanced countries as possible during the period and did his best to revitalize the economy through his diplomatic role.
Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon of the GNP said the nominee needed to be better prepared for energy diplomacy.
``A major private think tank in Korea said several European nations are showing keen interest in natural resources in North Korea,'' Kim said.
He continued, ``The government seems not to be prepared for this. Once getting approval from the National Assembly, the nominee should direct his team to map out a roadmap to secure natural resources in North Korea.''
Han said he would do proactive and far-sighted energy diplomacy by working closely with Middle Eastern, African, Central Asian, Russian and Latin American countries once his nomination is confirmed.