PARIS — South Korea's presidential office said on the 7th that Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won, facing allegations of lobbying over a new drug, and Gender Equality and Family Minister nominee Yong Hye-in, under scrutiny over holding a lawmaker's seat concurrently, must go through confirmation hearings because they were nominated through the personnel screening system under the personnel committee chair's responsibility.
A presidential office official told reporters at the press center in Paris that afternoon, in response to questions about the office's position on the two nominees, that the confirmation hearing system itself is a process of public vetting of nominees.
Asked about criticism from political circles that a series of personnel controversies had exposed holes in the vetting system, the official said the presidential office cannot discuss specific vetting procedures but will build and strengthen its personnel screening framework so that it meets public expectations.
Controversies have spread around Kim and Yong since their nominations. Opposition parties are calling for the nominations to be withdrawn. The presidential office, however, dismissed the possibility of withdrawal and reaffirmed its position that the nominees should go through confirmation hearings.
Meanwhile, the official said nothing had been confirmed regarding media reports that the leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea had conveyed an "unsuitable" assessment of Yong to the presidential office.
