The People Power Party has singled out Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won and Gender Equality and Family Minister nominee Yong Hye-in as its top targets for rejection ahead of confirmation hearings for President Lee Jae-myung's second round of cabinet appointments. The party plans to press for voluntary resignations and withdrawal of the nominations by citing negative public opinion, while pursuing various allegations at the hearings.
Park Sung-hoon, chief spokesperson for the People Power Party, told reporters at the National Assembly on the 12th that "public opinion holding these nominees to be inappropriate has already passed 70%." He added, "There is no precedent in constitutional history for pushing ahead with nominees who face this level of public veto."
The party effectively treated Yong's rejection as settled. "I believe the nomination of Yong will be withdrawn," Park said. "I understand that even within the Democratic Party, a majority favors withdrawing the nomination. I hope she resigns on her own before that happens."
Park also criticized a recent press conference in which Yong rebutted allegations against her. "It was a press conference aimed at President Lee Jae-myung, not at the public," he said, calling it "a public political message asking that her nomination not be withdrawn."
Against Kim, the party raised the issue of witnesses for the confirmation hearing alongside various allegations. With Kim's hearing now likely to proceed without witnesses, the People Power Party argues that the Democratic Party is obstructing scrutiny.
"If no witnesses are adopted, there is a strong risk this becomes a one-way hearing that consists only of excuses," Park said. "We will block it together with the public."
The party also kept up its attack over Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok's assessment of the nominee as "a better appointment the more you watch him." Park said, "Allegations of every kind are snowballing and the public is pouring out judgments of unfitness, yet the ruling party leader is leading the way in shielding the nominee."
Choi Eun-suk, the party's chief floor spokesperson, joined in, saying, "Allegations keep piling up, yet leader Kim calls it a good appointment. Does he take the public for fools?"
The People Power Party plans to focus its scrutiny at the hearing on allegations involving Kim's ties to a judge and on suspected lobbying over a new drug's clinical trial. Choi said Kim had explained that he ran into the judge who dismissed an arrest warrant request in the Genencell case by chance at a private gathering in 2022 and had no contact afterward, but that the judge's son was later confirmed to have worked as a legislative aide in Kim's parliamentary office.
On the clinical trial lobbying allegation, Choi said, "The prosecution investigation team at the time is known to have reported to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office a plan to indict Kim on charges of accepting bribes in exchange for exercising undue influence (brokering)." He added, "Under these circumstances, the Democratic Party is blocking even the appearance of key figures in the allegations as witnesses at the hearing."
The People Power Party nonetheless distanced itself from independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon, who has been the most persistent in raising the clinical trial lobbying allegation against Kim. Asked about Han's participation in the hearing, Park said, "A confirmation hearing is not a place for a particular individual to take the spotlight, but a place to determine whether a candidate for public office is qualified." He added, "The People Power Party will show its competence and capability at this hearing through team play."
