The presidential office on the 8th denied a report that the leadership of the ruling Democratic Party had told it that Yong Hye-in, the nominee for minister of gender equality and family, was unfit for the post, calling the report "entirely untrue."
In a notice to the press, the office said, "The report that the Democratic Party leadership conveyed to the presidential office an opinion that nominee Yong Hye-in is unqualified is entirely untrue." It added, "We have not received any request from the party leadership to withdraw the nomination or for her to step down."
Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok also dismissed the report as "false" in an appearance on the party's YouTube channel, Minjoo Party TV, the same day. "It is not true that such a message was delivered at the airport. It is an excessive work of fiction," he said.
Earlier, a presidential official accompanying President Lee Jae-myung on his state visit to France told reporters in Paris, when asked whether a confirmation hearing for Yong would proceed, "She is a nominee who was named through the personnel system under the responsibility of the personnel committee chair, so she must go through a confirmation hearing." The remarks reaffirmed the position that the nominee will not be dropped before the hearing, amid continuing controversy over whether she can serve as a minister while holding her seat as a proportional-representation lawmaker.
Meanwhile, one media outlet reported that day that Kim had met the president on the 6th at Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, during a send-off event for the state visit to France, and had conveyed his view that Yong was unfit for the post.
