Questions raised over commitment of cabinet nominees

Rep. Yoo Il-ho of the ruling Saenuri Party, President Park Geun-hye’s nominee for minister of land, infrastructure and transport, answers questions at a confirmation hearing at the National Assembly, Monday. Yonhap

By Kim Hyo-jin

Opposition lawmakers took issue with President Park's latest nominees for cabinet positions at a confirmation hearing Monday, citing concerns over whether the candidates will resign to stand in the 2016 general election.

New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) members accused Rep. Yoo Il-ho, candidate for land minister, of potentially occupying the post for only 10 months.

Appointees who are incumbent lawmakers are required to resign from their posts by next January at the latest if they decide to run in the 2016 election.

“We are concerned whether the public will be the victim of your candidacy for the election,” Rep. Lee Mi-kyung of the NPAD said. “Also, it will cause a huge problem to fill the posts again if there are sudden resignations.”

Rep. Lee Un-ju criticized the nominee for not refusing the position, and possibly standing down after a short term.

“You will remain in the position for a mere eight months except for some time you need to take to understand the pending issues of the ministry. You should have resigned when Cheong Wa Dae offered the job.”

However, ruling Saenuri Party lawmakers are opposed to such views.

“Ten months is not too short for the post. If you look at the previous Lee Myung-bak administrations, the average term for the minister was 12 months, and for the Roh Moo-hyun administration, it was 14 months,” said Rep. Lee Hag-jae of the Saenuri Party.

When asked if he wished to be a candidate for the upcoming general elections, Yoo answered, "I cannot sit here and say that I will simply be a minister for 10 months and stand in the general election."

He added that he will not “extend his ambitions to that decision.”

Park’s nominee also faced allegations that his wife and eldest son have fake resident registrations.

NPAD's Rep. Lee Chan-yeol argued that Yoo was not qualified for the post. "Six out of 10 citizens believe that false residence registration can be a crucial reason for dismissal," Lee said.

Also in a press release, Rep. Min Hong-chul of the same party stated that nominee Yoo's selection is problematic due to questions regarding his nationality.

"Yoo was born in the United States and has maintained a dual citizenship, and had the responsibility to choose a citizenship within two years after completing his military service," Min wrote.

"The fact that this arose as a social issue can also be interpreted as voluntarily giving up his nationality."

Unification minister nominee Hong Yong-pyo is expected to attend the hearing on Wednesday. And, Jo Yong-gu, nominated to the board of delegates on the National Election commission, will face questions the following day.