Will the Personnel Hearing, Focused on 'Sins Digging', Change to Seo Wook's 'Non-Disclosure Verification'?

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] The National Assembly conducted the first-ever closed-door morality verification during the adoption process of the confirmation report for Minister of National Defense Seo Wook. This came as the opposition party agreed to the ruling party's proposal, stating that "the Minister of National Defense is special." Attention is focused on whether this will open the way for discussions on improving the current confirmation hearing system, which has been criticized for excessive 'digging into personal backgrounds' and called for reform.

The National Defense Committee of the National Assembly adopted the confirmation hearing report for Minister Seo on the 16th, stating that he "has extensive experience and insight in joint and combined operations through key military positions."

For the first time, a closed-door verification related to morality was conducted during the hearing held that day. Prior to the hearing, Kim Byung-joo, a four-star general and member of the Democratic Party of Korea, requested a closed session through a parliamentary procedure statement, saying, "The minister must exercise military administrative and command authority immediately after the hearing," and "If the minister assumes office amid personal allegations, it will be difficult to exercise military administrative and command authority."

The opposition party also agreed with Kim's concerns. Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the People Power Party, said, "Even if other ministerial candidates are different, the Minister of National Defense is special," and questioned whether it is desirable for the country to see a military officer being harshly criticized for ethical issues during the hearing. Following these remarks, Defense Committee Chairman Min Hong-chul announced, "By agreement between the ruling and opposition party floor leaders, personal ethics and background issues will be handled in closed sessions."

In fact, the agreement between the ruling and opposition parties was well maintained during the nearly 10-hour hearing from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Toward the end, Lee Chae-ik of the People Power Party said, "From the perspective of the public's right to know, the opposition should ask questions related to morality," and inquired about allegations of Seo's children's disguised address changes for school admission purposes and real estate gap investments. However, the overall atmosphere was more formal than confrontational.

With the ruling and opposition parties agreeing for the first time to conduct morality verification in closed sessions during confirmation hearings, attention is also on whether institutional improvements such as separate verification of policy and morality aspects during future hearings will be made through bipartisan agreement. The current confirmation hearing system has been criticized for focusing more on political attacks and exposing candidates' and their families' personal backgrounds rather than verifying candidates' policy capabilities.

Democratic Party member Hong Young-pyo pointed out the need for reform at a discussion on confirmation hearing system improvements last October, saying, "Under the current confirmation hearing system, it has become a world where people run away when asked to become ministers." In June, he also proposed an amendment to the Confirmation Hearing Act aimed at conducting morality verification of high-ranking public office candidates in closed sessions.

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