Confirmation hearings for 6 nominees to take place this week

By Kim Hyo-jin

The National Assembly plans to hold confirmation hearings for President Moon Jae-in’s picks for six Cabinet members this week.

Han Seung-hee, the National Tax Service commissioner nominee, will appear at a hearing slated for Monday.

This will be followed by hearings for Defense Minister nominee Song Young-moo and Agriculture Minister nominee Kim Yung-rok, Wednesday.

Kim Sang-kon, the deputy prime minister for social affairs and education minister nominee, and Unification Minister nominee Cho Myoung-gyon will have theirs, Thursday. Labor Minister-designate Cho Dae-yop’s will follow on Friday.

Opposition parties particularly took aim at Song, Kim and Cho, taking issue with their ethical lapses.

The main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) vowed tough verification, calling them an “unqualified trio.” It, along with the minor opposition Bareun Party and People’s Party, have demanded the three designates voluntarily step down or the President withdraw his nomination.

Song is under mounting suspicions he attempted to minimize an investigation into a large-scale procurement corruption case involving naval officials in 2007 when he was serving as a chief of naval operations.

Opposition lawmakers are also expected to grill him over how he had received a large amount of consulting fees ― 30 million won ($26,350) a month ― for about two and a half years from a law firm after retiring from naval service in 2008. He is also embroiled in allegations of four cases of false residence registration.

Kim faces allegations including academic plagiarism. Kim Byung-joon, former deputy education minister under the Roh Moo-hyun government, will appear at the hearing as a witness. Kim Sang-kon, while serving as the chairman of the National Professors’ Labor Union in 2006, urged then-Minister Kim Byung-joon to resign immediately over suspected plagiarism and made him quit within 13 days of the appointment.

Cho has already been in the hot seat with an allegation of driving under the influence of alcohol.

The appointment of Cabinet members except the prime minister would not require parliamentary approval. But the refusal by the opposition parties can be a political burden for the nascent Moon government.

The LKP has threatened it could veto the government’s extra budget bill if Moon pushes ahead with appointing the controversial nominees.