Yong Hye-in, the nominee for minister of gender equality and family, brushed aside calls to withdraw at a press conference on the 10th, saying she would "fulfill my role both in the government and in the National Assembly." Asked about holding a proportional-representation seat and a ministerial post at the same time, Yong argued that "holding both a lawmaker's seat and a cabinet post is permitted by law." She went further, turning the criticism back on her critics: "The so-called custom of a proportional lawmaker resigning the seat when named to the cabinet is politicians divvying up posts among themselves." Yong also rebutted, point by point, accusations that she has turned her Basic Income Party into a personal vehicle. On suspicions that she self-appointed her spouse, Supreme Council member Park Ki-hong, to a senior party post, she countered that "there was no procedural flaw."
Yong twice entered the National Assembly as a proportional-representation lawmaker on satellite parties tied to the Democratic Party of Korea, then returned to the Basic Income Party after being expelled in what amounted to a staged removal. Younger voters feel more than anger at the maneuvering and privilege that have eroded the value of fairness — they feel resignation. It is also doubtful that internal criticism and checks functioned in any meaningful way while her spouse held a core party position. That is why her account is being read as a one-sided excuse. Even if there was no illegality or procedural flaw, as Yong claims, a politician ought to apologize to the public and accept moral responsibility.
Earlier that day, Sung Ki-hong, senior presidential secretary for public relations and communication, said of the controversies surrounding Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won and Yong that the government "will make a judgment after the confirmation process, based on standards such as the public's expectations." It was a restatement of the existing position that the hearings will proceed regardless of the widening negative public sentiment. In a Media Tomato poll released the same day, opposition to the appointments stood at 73.4% for Yong and 55.7% for Kim.
The suspicions surrounding the two nominees are not the kind that a hearing will dispel. Kim, who faces allegations of lobbying for a new drug approval, has also been accused of promising to pass along a request in a phone call with a broker during a parliamentary audit in 2021. Even so, the ruling party says it will not accept a single witness or reference witness for Kim. Some read that as an intent to hold toothless hearings, then push the appointments through while gauging public opinion. If the government truly wants to meet the public's standards, the decent course, even now, is to withdraw the nominations or for the nominees to step aside.
