The People Power Party is intensifying its scrutiny of Kim Seung-won, the nominee for justice minister. After raising questions about an omission in his asset disclosure, the party has broadened its attack to his spouse's operation of an unregistered educational facility and salaries drawn by their children.
Kim Tae-gyu, the party's chief floor spokesperson, said in a statement on the 9th that "Kim Seung-won, who paid the acquisition tax yet omitted the asset filing, is not qualified to be justice minister."
The spokesperson said the nominee's spouse inherited a building and land worth 160 million won in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, in June and paid the acquisition tax on it. "Property she was aware of when paying taxes disappeared only from the asset disclosure meant for public scrutiny, and asking the public to accept this as a simple error is an insult to the people," he said.
"The explanation that the documents were omitted because the nomination process moved quickly is even more irresponsible," he added. "No matter how tight the confirmation hearing schedule may be, declaring all assets without exception and verifying submitted documents is a basic duty that any candidate for public office must observe."
The spokesperson also said that "offering to submit additional documents only after the allegations surfaced is not a responsible attitude." He asked how someone who claims he will uphold the nation's legal order can speak to the public about law and principle if he treats the vetting process applied to himself so carelessly.
He said the nominee must disclose, with objective documentation, his inherited share and its value, the date the acquisition tax was paid, and how the asset disclosure was prepared, reviewed and left incomplete. "If he cannot even prove that it was not intentional, he must step down immediately as the nominee for justice minister," he said.
Kim Min-jeon, a lawmaker from the same party, held a press conference the same day targeting allegations over the nominee's spouse running an illegal educational facility. She argued that the entity, known as Olive School or the Korea Child Development Social Cooperative, used the terms "school" and "alternative education institution" without going through the authorization and registration procedures required by law.
"A check with the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education confirmed that Olive School, or the Korea Child Development Social Cooperative, was not a legally registered alternative education institution with the education office," the lawmaker said. "It therefore cannot use the name school."
"Fees at the facility are said to reach 2.3 million won a month for those who do not use vouchers," she added. "The nominee's spouse operated full-day education programs for children with developmental disabilities for years under the name of a school, and collected substantial fees for it." She said someone seeking to become justice minister, responsible for the nation's law and principles, must not try to avoid accountability now with a single line about not knowing the law.
The lawmaker also took issue with salaries the nominee's children received from the facility. "The Korea Child Development Social Cooperative was in reality a family income cooperative in which not only the spouse but also the son and daughter took pay," she said, alleging that the two earned 68.4 million won in 2024, 89.3 million won in 2025 and 113.82 million won so far this year from the spouse's illegal educational facility.
"If the spouse operated a facility in breach of the law in the nominee's own constituency and the children also derived financial gain from it, the entire family took part in illegal conduct," she said. "Kim must resign immediately as the nominee for justice minister."
