Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister-nominee Byeon Chang-heum is under fire for remarks he made while serving as president of the Seoul Housing and Communities Corp. (SH). According to the June 2016 minutes of SH released by the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), the nominee, while referring to a 2016 accident in a metro station, attributed the death of a 19-year-old maintenance worker to his own mistakes. “Nothing would have happened had he paid more heed. A person died for nothing and this shook municipal affairs,” Byeon was quoted as saying.
The victim, an irregular employee of a subcontracted maintenance company for Seoul Metro, died at Guui Station on Line 2 in eastern Seoul in May 2016 when he got stuck between a safety door and an incoming train. At the time, he had been working for the company for seven months and was repairing the door alone, a violation of safety guidelines. It's surprising indeed that Byeon blamed the worker for the tragic accident, which occurred owing to structural problems, rather than offering sympathy for the young man's pitiful death.
During a meeting to discuss matters about a proposal to open a restaurant in a rental housing complex the following month, Byeon also said, “Poor people are bound to eat at home. They are not crazy enough to eat out.”
The news that Lee Yong-gu, the newly appointed vice justice minister, assaulted a taxi driver while intoxicated in early November is no less disappointing. Lee grabbed the driver by the collar at an apartment complex at midnight when the driver was waking him up. Police closed the case without booking him after the driver objected to his punishment.
Byeon apologized for his inadequate remarks belatedly, but Lee has kept mum. The two cases raise the need for more thorough verification of high-ranking officials by the authorities concerned. Byeon's qualification as a cabinet member must be examined rigorously in the National Assembly's confirmation hearing; while Lee should explain the assault incident and apologize.