Yong Hye-in, the nominee for minister of gender equality and family, again declined to address a series of controversies, including whether she can hold the ministerial post while keeping her other role and allegations that she tolerated gender discrimination within an informal party organization.
Yong did not answer reporters' questions on the 8th about whether her position on holding both posts had changed as she arrived at her confirmation hearing preparation office at the Korea Youth Activity Promotion Institute in Seoul's Seodaemun District. She also gave no response when asked whether she agreed with the position the Basic Income Party had announced the previous day.
Since first reporting to the office on the 2nd, Yong has for about a week offered no detailed explanation of the allegations facing her, including the dual-post issue, the appointment of her spouse, Basic Income Party Supreme Council member Park Ki-hong, in what critics call a self-dealing personnel decision, his receipt of government subsidies, and the alleged tolerance of gender discrimination within an informal organization.
Shin Ji-hye, a Supreme Council member of the Basic Income Party, defended Yong on the dual-post question the previous day, saying, "A new path must always be a challenge, and only when it is attempted is a new precedent created." On the allegations surrounding the appointment of Yong's spouse to a senior party post, Shin said it was "a matter that had already been agreed upon." On the controversy over the informal organization, she avoided a direct answer, saying it "will be explained in detail at the hearing."
The presidential office said the same day that because the nominee was selected through the personnel vetting system, the principle is to let the confirmation hearing proceed. The stance is read as an indication that the office will watch the hearing before assessing her fitness for the post and public opinion, even as the opposition steps up its attacks on the nominee.
