The Democratic Party of Korea on the 17th single-handedly adopted parliamentary confirmation hearing reports on Kim Seung-won, nominee for justice minister, and Kang Shin-chul, nominee for defense minister. The People Power Party warned it would take its fight to the streets if the two nominees are appointed anyway, as the clash over the confirmation hearings escalates into a broader breakdown of parliamentary business.
The National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee held a plenary session that day and passed the motion to adopt Kim's confirmation hearing report, led by the ruling bloc. People Power Party lawmakers walked out of the meeting room en masse in protest before the motion was tabled. At the National Assembly's National Defense Committee, Kang's confirmation hearing report was likewise processed under ruling party leadership, with all People Power Party lawmakers absent.
The People Power Party pushed back by refusing to convene plenary sessions of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee and the Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee, both chaired by its own members. As a result, votes to adopt the confirmation hearing reports on Hong Ji-sun, nominee for land minister, and Lee So-young, nominee for minister of SMEs and startups, were delayed. With the standoff between the rival parties spreading across committees, disruption to the National Assembly's schedule has become unavoidable.
