The standoff between South Korea's ruling and opposition parties over Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won is showing signs of spilling into the streets ahead of the adoption of his confirmation hearing report. The Democratic Party is expected to move to adopt the report as early as the 17th, while the People Power Party plans to block his appointment outright, starting with a large-scale rally on the 22nd and extending to street demonstrations.
According to political sources on the 16th, the Democratic Party is coordinating the adoption of the report on Kim before the Chuseok holiday. Seo Young-kyo, chair of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, said the same day: "I hope the People Power Party stops raising wasteful allegations and cooperates in adopting the hearing report." She added, "We intend to resolve this as quickly as possible, in the sense that we hope there is no vacancy at the Justice Ministry."
The Democratic Party argues that further allegations amount to nothing more than political attacks, given that suspicions surrounding Kim over lobbying for clinical trial approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety were closed with a suspension of indictment following a prosecution investigation. The party also directed concentrated criticism at independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon, who led the charge in raising the allegations. Han Min-soo, a member of the party's supreme council, said at a leadership meeting held in Daejeon: "The hearing has closed, but now it is time to uncover the truth about the patchwork political maneuvering Rep. Han has carried out." He pressed further, asking, "Who on earth handed over the internal prosecution indictment plan and investigative materials?"
Chief spokesperson Park Sung-joon also criticized Han and former President Yoon Suk-yeol together, saying, "Yoon Suk-yeol and Han Dong-hoon are one body. So I will call him 'Yoon Dong-hoon.'" He continued sharply, "Stop yapping from now on and submit properly to the investigation," adding, "Don't change your password, and get ready to hand over your phone."
Faced with the ruling party's push to adopt the report, the opposition countered with the card of street protests. On the 22nd, the People Power Party will hold a "National Report Rally on the Failures of the Lee Jae-myung Administration," a preliminary event ahead of outdoor demonstrations, launching a public opinion campaign to derail Kim's nomination. The party is considering highlighting the government's policy failures and personnel problems at the rally, to be held in front of the main National Assembly building, before moving to street demonstrations.
A party leadership official explained: "Calls within the party for street protests have been growing ahead of Chuseok, so we decided to hold a public sentiment report rally at the National Assembly as a preliminary event." The official added, "We have practical preparations in place so we can take to the streets at any time if worsening public sentiment is confirmed after the Chuseok holiday."
The opposition has gone beyond parliamentary offensives to pull out the street protest card because it judges that the ruling bloc will push through the adoption of the hearing report and the appointment process on the strength of its numerical majority. The move is seen as a strategy to expand allegations against Kim personally into questions about the government's personnel failures and judicial risk, and to force a withdrawal of the nomination through a public opinion campaign.
Han also signaled the possibility of taking to the streets if Kim is appointed. Speaking on SBS radio the same day, he said, "I think many people will come out into the streets," and on whether he himself would step forward, he said, "You will find out if you wait and see." The previous day, Han had also fueled the public opinion campaign, saying, "If Kim Seung-won becomes justice minister, history will change. If this is an administration that appoints such a person, three years is too long."
Meanwhile, voices from civil society opposing Kim's appointment have also emerged. In a commentary on the same day, the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy said, "The nominee failed to sufficiently prove his qualifications during the confirmation period," pointing out that "a prior drunk driving conviction, as well as the fraudulent registration of his child's residence, constitute serious grounds for disqualification for a justice minister who must observe and enforce the law." On the allegations of lobbying over Genencell's clinical trials, the group said it was "difficult to view this as 'a targeted prosecution investigation into the delivery of a public-interest petition,' as the nominee claims."
Public opinion on Kim's appointment also tilted negative. In a survey of 1,001 people aged 18 and over nationwide conducted on the 14th and 15th by the Korea Society Opinion Institute, 52.1% of respondents said they opposed Kim's appointment, more than double the 25.1% who supported it. Among men, 54.9% opposed the appointment, while 49.5% of women did. By region, opposition exceeded 50% in every area except Gwangju, South Jeolla and North Jeolla, where it stood at 32.9%.
