Joo Ho-young: "Appointment of Hwang Hee as Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Aimed at Presidential Election Influence"

Candidate Hwang Lacks Standing Committee Experience
"It's About Placing People Within the Government"
Democratic Party Rejects Apology and Resignation Demands
"No Political Retaliation Intended"

People Power Party Floor Leader Joo Ho-young is giving a greeting at the announcement event titled "The Lost 10 Years of Park Won-soon's Administration, A Promise for a New Leap" held at the party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul on the 20th. 2021.1.20 Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyun-joo] On the 21st, Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party, called Hwang Hee, nominee for Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, "unqualified," saying, "It is a position that can probably exert considerable influence on the presidential election, so I think it was sent for that purpose."

In a phone interview on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' that day, Floor Leader Joo criticized, "The Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism must have expertise in a wide range of fields including culture, sports, tourism, and religion, but he has no such experience at all. He doesn't even have experience in a standing committee in the National Assembly."

He added, "They just want to put someone from within the government. And the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism can play a very important role during elections."

Floor Leader Joo said, "As far as I know, though I don't know exactly, the budget is over 5 trillion won. Since it is a department that supports and distributes funds, it is a position that can probably exert considerable influence on the presidential election by using generosity."

He also expressed the view that Jeong Eui-yong, nominee for Minister of Foreign Affairs, is unqualified. Floor Leader Joo said, "There has been much controversy over whether the replacement of Minister Kang Kyung-hwa was due to pressure from Kim Yo-jong. Jeong Eui-yong has served as National Security Office chief for more than three years, and inter-Korean relations were almost conducted under his supervision, but was it successful? I don't understand why someone like that is being appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs again."

He dismissed the Democratic Party's apology and resignation demands regarding his remark that former presidents could be subject to pardons. Floor Leader Joo said, "If there was even one word about political retaliation, there was absolutely no such intention," adding, "It was a sincere request to look at this issue with empathy from the position of the underdog."

He continued, "People related to this administration could also be subject to pardons, right? You never know what can happen," and mentioned, "Even now, there are people closely related to the administration who are being punished."

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