"'Original Red' Tae Young-ho Claims 'Do You Believe in Juche Ideology?'... Lee In-young Says 'No Ideological Verification Done' (Comprehensive)"

Unification Minister Nominee Parliamentary Hearing
Taeyongho: "Jeondaehyeop Swore Loyalty to Kim Il-sung's Photo Every Morning"
Lee In-young: "No Such Memory... Ideological Screening Is Unjust"

Lee In-young, the nominee for Minister of Unification, appeared at the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the 23rd and responded to questions from lawmakers. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

At the confirmation hearing for Lee In-young, the nominee for Minister of Unification, held at the National Assembly on the 23rd, the opposition party, the United Future Party, demanded a 'renunciation declaration' from the nominee, leading to intense clashes between the ruling and opposition parties over 'ideological verification.' The United Future Party questioned whether Lee, who was an activist in the 1980s, was a believer in Juche ideology, while the ruling Democratic Party of Korea strongly opposed this as an anachronistic color attack.

The opening salvo of ideological verification came from Tae Yong-ho, a United Future Party lawmaker and defector from North Korea. He claimed to be a self-proclaimed 'originator of Juche ideology' and questioned whether the nominee believed in Juche ideology.

He introduced the educational content he experienced in North Korea while attending university in Pyongyang in the 1980s.

Rep. Tae stated, "While attending university in North Korea, I believed in and followed Juche ideology. At that time, North Korea taught that 'there are many believers of Juche ideology in South Korea, and there is an organization called Jeondaehyop that every morning pledges loyalty in front of Kim Il-sung's portrait to liberate South Korea from American imperialist colonial rule.'"

He referred to Lee's experience as chairman of Jeondaehyop, asking, "I could not find when and where the nominee renounced his ideology. When and where did the nominee abandon Juche ideology? Has he made a public declaration that he is not a believer in Juche ideology?"

In response, Lee said, "I understand that there was misinformation in North Korea," adding, "I have no such memories at all."

Lee argued, "Renunciation is something done by people who move from North to South or from South to North," and said, "No matter how much it is a question from a hearing committee member, asking about ideological renunciation is inappropriate."

He continued, "While ideological renunciation may be explicitly forced in the North, the South has freedom of thought and conscience," and said, "From that perspective, asking about ideological renunciation can only be seen as a lack of understanding of democracy in the South."

Rep. Tae repeatedly asked, "Do you believe in Juche ideology or not?" and Lee responded, "I think demanding ideological renunciation is something from the past dictatorships of North and South Korea."

Rep. Park Jin from the same party asked Lee, based on a past document titled 'Position of the Jeondaehyop Chairman,' whether he agreed with the phrase 'The subject of revolution is the triune power of the leader, the party, and the masses,' to which Lee replied, "I cannot say I agree."

The Democratic Party strongly protested. Rep. Kim Young-ho said, "Asking a four-term National Assembly member and minister nominee to renounce Juche ideology or whether he has renounced it is an act that insults the National Assembly." Rep. Lee Jae-jung said, "It is shocking that the attitude of the lawmaker's questioning, not the nominee's past ideology, is anti-constitutional."

Rep. Jeon Hae-cheol also clicked his tongue, saying, "I was dumbfounded by the talk of ideological renunciation," and argued, "Comparing the nominee's personal journey and going beyond ideological verification to talk about renunciation belittles and insults the nominee."

Song Young-gil, chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee from the Democratic Party, also pointed out, "While ideological verification may be necessary, if it is about 'ideological renunciation,' it presupposes that there is a specific ideology such as Juche, so there is a logical contradiction."

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