Disapproval grows for land minister nominee

Land minister nominee Byeon Chang-heum apologizes for his past controversial remarks and other allegations during his confirmation hearing at the National Assembly in Seoul, Wednesday. / Yonhap

By Kang Seung-woo

A National Assembly confirmation hearing of besieged land minister nominee Byeon Chang-heum found, Wednesday, that disapproval of him by the opposition bloc was showing no signs of abating due to his past controversial remarks and alleged misdeeds.

Lawmakers from the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) asked a barrage of tough questions of Byeon in relation to them, urging him to decline his nomination, and even the minor opposition Justice Party, which has traditionally refrained from finding fault with President Moon Jae-in's Cabinet nominees, denounced him as unfit for the ministerial post.

Earlier this month, President Moon nominated Byeon, president of the Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH), to replace Minister Kim Hyun-mee, amid a public backlash against the government's failure to curb skyrocketing housing prices. Minister nominees are subject to Assembly confirmation hearings, but their appointments do not require the Assembly's approval.

Considering the unfavorable situation surrounding him, Byeon started off his confirmation hearing with an apology for the remarks, which was not enough to ease criticism toward him. Byeon is under fire after saying in 2016 that the death of a 19-year-old service engineer was the result of his own error. The subcontracted worker was killed by a subway train while fixing a safety door on a metro platform of Guui Station in Seoul. The incident invited public anger over the subcontractor system. Byeon was the CEO of the Seoul Housing and Communities Corp. (SH) at the time.

“The nominee has no basic decency as a human being. Byeon needs to resign from the nominee position right away, or the President should drop him,” Rep. Kim Hee-kuk of the PPP said.

Rep. Song Seog-jun, another PPP lawmaker, condemned the nominee for acting as if he were already a minister, saying that he participated in a Cheong Wa Dae-organized event and held a press conference after his nomination.

In response, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) defended Byeon, urging the PPP to judge him on his qualifications and policies.

“We should stop transforming the confirmation hearing into a place of political strife and we need to clear the allegations in the hearing,” Rep. Cho Eung-cheon of the DPK said.

In response, Byeon said he humbly accepted the criticism toward him.

“I am sorry to those who were hurt by my words and to the worker's bereaved family,” he said. “I will try my best to ensure the safety of the people after taking office.”

Along with the remarks, Byeon is faced with allegations such as drawing up a “blacklist” of employees while at SH, and illegally hiring his former students and acquaintances for senior SH posts. The opposition also took issue with his daughter's false internship record at a national museum, raising suspicions that she may have received preferential treatment for college entrance. It was also found that he failed to pay a vehicle tax and other taxes and fines on over 10 occasions and the relevant authorities confiscated his car several times until he paid them later.

However, Byeon denied the allegations.