Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Opposition lawmakers reject 'foul-mouthed' health minister nominee
In this Oct. 4, 2019, file photo, Rep. Kim Seung-hee speaks during her parliamentary inspection at the National Assembly in Seoul. Kim, who was named as the nominee for health minister post, has become a prime target of main opposition party lawmakers who accuse her of being “foul-mouthed” and “unethical.” Yonhap
By Jung Min-ho
By Jung Min-ho
Less than a week after then Health Minister nominee Chung Ho-young withdrew from consideration, his replacement, Kim Seung-hee, has now become a prime target of main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) lawmakers who accuse her of being “foul-mouthed” and “unethical.”
“Many people remember her as a foul-mouthed politician, as she once said former President Moon Jae-in was showing early signs of dementia,” lawmakers of the DPK said in a joint statement. “For stirring up hatred and using foul language, she was brought to the National Assembly's ethics committee and for that reason, she did not even get the opportunity to compete in the last general election as a candidate for the United Future Party, the predecessor of the People Power Party.”
Kim, 68, a former lawmaker, made headlines at the parliamentary inspection on Oct. 4, 2019, when she said Moon might have been showing early signs of dementia as she was criticizing his administration. The comment came after he was reported to have had “no idea” of building a records center for him after approving the project at a Cabinet meeting two weeks earlier.
When asked to apologize by the then-ruling party DPK lawmakers, she refused to do so and said she would not stop exercising her rights as an Assembly member to criticize the government.
Nevertheless, her harsh past comments are likely to come back to haunt her at the upcoming confirmation hearing. The main opposition party lawmakers had criticized previous nominee Chung for allegations that his children had been given preferential transfer admissions to Kyungpook National University Medical School while he was the director and president of the university hospital. Chung eventually withdrew his nomination.
The DPK lawmakers are also expected to take issue with her as her son was exempted from military service for undisclosed medical reasons. Her son received the grade of five on his physical exam. The result allowed him to be placed in alternative civilian service, which is usually preferred to serving in the Army.
Kim also faces allegations of being involved in real estate speculation. According to the Hankook Ilbo, the sister paper of The Korea Times, she made a profit of more than 100 million won ($80,000) in 2017 after selling an apartment she bought in Sejong, while living in her Seoul apartment and renting it out to someone else. Opposition lawmakers have attacked her for "unethically" profiting from the sale of an apartment in Sejong while living in Seoul, as housing in Sejong is meant for government officials who live in the city.
However, the opposition party's attacks may prove to be unfruitful. In Korea, parliamentary confirmation hearings are widely seen as nothing but a formality. The Moon administration pushed ahead with the appointment of 34 ministerial-level posts despite the opposition parties' rejections.
Kim, who majored in pharmacy at Seoul National University, got a Ph.D. in chemistry at University of Notre Dame, and began her career as a research official at the Ministry of Health and Welfare in 1988, working in various health and drug-related government agencies since then.
She was one of the politicians who openly urged the Moon government to close the border with China in February 2020 when the number of COVID-19 cases was increasing in Wuhan.