Yong Hye-in Leaves National Tax Service Chief Hearing Amid Concerns Over 'Indirect COVID-19 Contact'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hye-min] Yong Hye-in, a member of the National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee from the Basic Income Party, did not attend the confirmation hearing for Kim Dae-ji, the nominee for Commissioner of the National Tax Service, due to concerns about possible indirect contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19.

On the 19th, Yong announced this on her Facebook, stating, "I had to leave inevitably to prevent the spread of COVID-19."

At the confirmation hearing for the nominee that morning, Yong was scheduled to question after Woo Won-shik of the Democratic Party of Korea, but the microphone was immediately passed to Seo Byung-soo of the United Future Party. Seo, seemingly unaware of the situation, asked, "Is it my turn?" and Yoon Hu-duk, chair of the Planning and Finance Committee, explained, "Due to circumstances, (Yong) has left her seat."

Yong explained the reason for her absence, saying, "I appeared on TBS radio last night, and after the Planning and Finance Committee convened today, around 10:30 a.m., I received a message from TBS that a guest who appeared in the previous time slot also appeared on CBS radio that morning and was undergoing a COVID-19 test." After it was revealed that a reporter appearing on CBS radio was confirmed positive, CBS suspended its regular broadcasts that day.

Yong said, "Although I am not subject to self-quarantine, if there is a possibility of direct or indirect contact with a confirmed case, I judged it appropriate to suspend my schedule until the test results of the guest are confirmed," adding, "I am currently absent and waiting for the guest's test results."

She apologized, saying, "I am sorry for not fulfilling my responsibility to verify the nominee's work ability as a member of the Planning and Finance Committee," and added, "I plan to minimize external schedules as much as possible until the COVID-19 outbreak subsides."

Yong decided to replace her hearing questions with written submissions.

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