Who are the Justice and Defense minister nominees whose confirmation hearing reports were adopted in the National Assembly?

The nominees are Kim Seung-won for justice minister and Kang Shin-chul for defense minister. Both reports were adopted by parliamentary committees on Thursday despite objections from the main opposition People Power Party.

Why did the People Power Party boycott the confirmation report votes for Kim Seung-won and Kang Shin-chul?

The PPP boycotted because it said the allegations surrounding Kim were not fully addressed, and it also disputed Kang’s fitness for office. For Kang, the party cited suspicions about his son’s purchase of commercial property and the ruling party’s refusal to call witnesses.

What allegations were raised against Kim Seung-won and what reform tasks did Kang Shin-chul support?

Kim was accused of illegally lobbying the food and drug safety ministry to speed up approval for a COVID-19 treatment in 2021 at a broker’s request. Kang was said by a Democratic Party lawmaker to support reforms including transferring wartime operational control from the United States and integrating the Army, Navy and Air Force academies.

Confirmation hearing reports adopted for justice, defense minister nominees

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Summary

Parliamentary confirmation hearing reports were adopted for Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won and Defense Minister nominee Kang Shin-chul in Seoul on Thursday amid boycotts by the main opposition People Power Party. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea pushed through both reports despite objections over unresolved allegations. The opposition said the issues were not fully addressed, while the DPK said both nominees had explained themselves sufficiently.

Key Facts

The parliamentary legislation and judiciary committee adopted Kim Seung-won’s confirmation hearing report despite a PPP boycott.
PPP Rep. Park Hyeung-soo said none of the allegations raised during the hearing had been resolved.
The national defense committee adopted Kang Shin-chul’s report after PPP lawmakers also boycotted that session.

By Yonhap

Published Sep 17, 2026 1:46 pm KST
Updated Sep 17, 2026 3:01 pm KST

Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won attends his parliamentary confirmation hearing at the National Assembly in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap

Parliamentary confirmation hearing reports were adopted for the justice and defense minister nominees Thursday amid objections from the main opposition People Power Party (PPP).

The parliamentary legislation and judiciary committee adopted a confirmation hearing report for Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won as the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) forged ahead despite PPP lawmakers' boycott, protesting that allegations surrounding Kim were not fully addressed.

"None of the allegations raised during the hearing have been resolved," PPP Rep. Park Hyeung-soo said before walking out of the session.

The DPK argued that the nominee sufficiently explained himself during Tuesday's confirmation hearing, including claims that he illegally lobbied the food and drug safety ministry to speed up approval for a COVID-19 treatment in 2021 at a broker's request.

Kim, a two-term lawmaker, served as a judge at the Jeonju District Court and the Suwon District Court before joining the presidential office under the liberal Moon Jae-in administration, where he worked in the office of political affairs.

He was elected to the 21st National Assembly in 2020 and later served as the DPK's legal affairs committee chief. He also played a key role in passing the revision to the Criminal Procedure Act as a ranking member of the legislation committee.

The parliamentary national defense committee separately adopted a confirmation hearing report for Defense Minister nominee Kang Shin-chul, also amid a boycott by PPP lawmakers.

Rep. Kim Byung-joo, the DPK's senior committee member, said Kang demonstrated a strong commitment to various reform tasks pushed by the Lee Jae Myung administration during his confirmation hearing, including the transfer of wartime operational control from the United States and the integration of military academies of the Army, Navy and Air Force.

Kang also appeared fit to manage the Korea-U.S. alliance as a former deputy commander of the Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command and showed a strong understanding of policy issues, the lawmaker said.

Rep. Lim Jong-deuk, the PPP's senior committee member, however, disputed the nominee's fitness to serve, citing his failure to properly address suspicions surrounding his son's purchase of commercial property.

Lim also took issue with the DP's refusal to call witnesses to Kang's confirmation hearing.

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