Kim Seung-won, the nominee for justice minister, hired the head of a hometown association in his constituency and the man's daughter as a senior aide and an intern, respectively, according to records confirmed by lawmakers. The opposition called the hires a political payback.
Rep. Park Jung-hun of the People Power Party told a news conference at the National Assembly on Sept. 14 that he had newly confirmed that Kim hired the sitting head of a Honam hometown association, surnamed Kim, as a Grade 5 aide after the 2022 local elections. Kim also hired the man's daughter as an intern, Park said.
Park questioned whether the hires amounted to rewards for political support. The association head was known to have helped Democratic Party candidates in the 2022 local elections and the presidential election, Park said. Under Article 87 of the Public Official Election Act, the head of a hometown association may not campaign in the name of an institution, an organization or the head's own office. Park said a person who had served as an aide to the nominee testified that the association head "was hired as a Grade 5 aide as a form of payback, on the view that he had earned credit through campaign work." According to that former staffer, the man drew a salary of about 80 million won ($57,600) but did not report to the National Assembly after being hired. He appeared at the district office about once a week, the former staffer said.
"The problem is that the daughter was hired as an intern as well," Park said, arguing that the arrangement amounted to a violation of the election law's ban on hometown associations taking part in campaigns, extended to a group capable of delivering large numbers of votes to the Democratic Party. The father and daughter did not work at the office during overlapping periods, according to the findings.
"Hiring alone cannot be declared illegal," Park said, adding that the nominee had already drawn criticism after it emerged that he had hired the son of Judge Jung In-jae as a legislative assistant. "What has been confirmed is that he gave preferential hiring to aides working alongside him as a lawmaker, based on personal ties and even in violation of the law," Park said. He stressed that "a clear explanation and accountability must follow."
