Criticism from the Ruling Party Toward Taeyoungho's 'Ideological Screening'... "Nonsense, Anachronistic"

Taeyoungho on 'Ideological Verification' Lee Inyoung "Lacks Understanding of South Korea"

On the morning of the 23rd, at the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee confirmation hearing in Yeouido, Seoul, Tae Young-ho, a member of the United Future Party, is questioning Lee In-young, the nominee for Minister of Unification.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] On the 23rd, Tae Young-ho, a member of the United Future Party, asked Lee In-young, the nominee for Minister of Unification, whether he had undergone an ideological conversion, sparking controversy. Meanwhile, the ruling party, including the nominee, criticized the remark as inappropriate.

At the Unification Ministry ministerial confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly in Yeouido on the same day, Rep. Tae said, "While preparing for this hearing, I looked extensively into the candidate's life trajectory but could not find any evidence of ideological conversion," and asked, "When and where did you ever say, 'I have abandoned Juche ideology'?"

In response, nominee Lee said, "I am not someone who defected from the South to the North or anything like that. Asking me about ideological conversion is an inappropriate question even if you, as a hearing committee member, ask me," adding, "It seems you have a lack of understanding about the South."

Within the ruling party, criticism of Rep. Tae's question continued. Former lawmaker Kim Boo-kyum, who is running for the Democratic Party leadership, criticized Rep. Tae, saying, "What kind of absurd nonsense is this?"

In a post on his Facebook page that day, former Rep. Kim said, "I doubted my own eyes and ears. At the nominee's confirmation hearing, Rep. Tae asked, 'When and where did you undergo ideological conversion? Have you ever publicly declared that you abandoned Juche ideology?'"

He continued, "Is the behavior shown in the National Assembly today 'Kim Jong-in-style reform'?" and criticized, "If we do not break away from outdated far-right anti-communism, there will be no 'future' or 'unity,' only 'the past' and 'division.'"

He pointed out, "Rep. Tae seems to still mistakenly believe that South Korea is a country where one can arbitrarily judge a person's ideology as a pretext, accuse them of crimes, imprison them, and even take their life. That may have happened in the past, but the nominee is someone who fought against such a system."

He added, "South Korea is a country where even someone like Rep. Tae, who spent most of his life in North Korea, can be elected as a member of the National Assembly right in the heart of Seoul," and raised his voice again, asking, "During that process, has our party or any citizen ever tried to verify Rep. Tae's past ideology?"

Finally, former Rep. Kim said, "South Korea is a country with a constitution that guarantees freedom of thought, equality of human rights, and democratic fundamental rights, which no one should deny," and added, "This kind of democracy may still be unfamiliar and difficult for Rep. Tae to understand, but I hope he never shows such regressive behavior again."

Lee In-young, the nominee for Minister of Unification, sits with a stern expression while listening to a procedural statement by Tae Young-ho, a member of the Future United Party, during the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 23rd.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Hong Jeong-min, the Democratic Party's floor spokesperson, also criticized in a written statement that day, saying, "One of the most important values protected by the South Korean constitution is freedom of thought and conscience," and added, "Rep. Tae, who engaged in anti-democratic ideological scrutiny, should reflect on democracy and the constitution first."

Democratic Party spokesperson Heo Yoon-jung also issued a statement expressing deep concern over the United Future Party lawmakers who shamelessly ask outdated and baseless questions such as ideological conversion, questioning, "Are they really members of the National Assembly living in the 21st century?"

She further criticized, "Can the public accept ideological scrutiny of a National Assembly member based on the education Rep. Tae received before defecting to South Korea in August 2016?"

Shin Dong-geun, a lawmaker running for the Democratic Party's Supreme Council, said, "Seeing questions that are not really questions, based on outdated color politics, I thought Chairman Kim Jong-in's concerns had become a reality," adding, "I feared that he would be consumed as an old-fashioned Cold War warrior and then discarded."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.