Controversy is mounting over Yong Hye-in, the Basic Income Party lawmaker nominated as minister of gender equality and family, turning her confirmation hearing into a political flashpoint. After she said she would keep her proportional-representation seat in the National Assembly even if appointed minister, criticism has broadened to her support for abolishing prosecutors' supplementary investigation powers and to accusations that she has practiced divisive gender politics. Opposition is now coming from progressive parties and women's groups as well.
Yong wrote on Facebook on the 31st that she was well aware of concerns that keeping her seat could be seen as a privilege or a benefit. "But if I, the party's only sitting lawmaker, were to resign, the Basic Income Party would face the difficulty of losing its representation in the National Assembly," she said.
Under Article 29 of the National Assembly Act, lawmakers may concurrently serve as members of the State Council. By convention, however, proportional-representation lawmakers give up their seats when appointed to cabinet posts, with the next candidate on the party list taking over. If Yong steps down, the Basic Income Party — which currently holds only her seat — would have no presence in the legislature. Ahn Cheol-soo, a lawmaker with the People Power Party, called Yong "a privileged insider who won a proportional-representation badge twice in a row on the Democratic Party's coattails," adding that she was "acting like an aristocrat by insisting on keeping her proportional seat even after becoming a minister."
Progressive groups and women's organizations have questioned whether Yong is a suitable choice, pointing to her past statements advocating the abolition of supplementary investigation powers. The Korean Women's Political Network said: "How can someone who led the campaign to completely abolish supplementary investigation powers — which victims of sexual violence and those vulnerable before the law tearfully pleaded to keep — guarantee the right to safety for the vulnerable?"
Opposition lawmakers have also accused Yong of pursuing divisive gender politics, citing her advocacy of a comprehensive anti-discrimination law. Kim Jae-sub of the People Power Party described her as "an agitator who has stoked division by branding men as potential perpetrators."
The fact that Yong's husband holds a post within the Basic Income Party has also drawn scrutiny. Her spouse served as deputy secretary-general for strategy and planning while Yong led the party, and recently ran for a seat on its supreme council. Kim Jae-won, a supreme council member of the People Power Party, argued: "If she resigns her seat, the Basic Income Party loses its presence in the National Assembly and its state subsidies, and her husband would have trouble drawing a salary from the party. That is why she is not resigning."
Separately, Kim Seung-won, the nominee for justice minister, is also facing concentrated attacks from the opposition, which describes the pick as a shield for President Lee Jae-myung against his legal risks. Chung Point-sik, floor leader of the People Power Party, said: "They have decided to hand the ministerial post overseeing trials to the person who led the charge to drop the prosecution of the president's case," calling it "a flat rejection of demands to overhaul the administration."
