Choi Hyung-doo: "Candidate Hwang Hee took 'sick leave', missed the plenary session, and then traveled to Spain"

Hwang Hee, the nominee for Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, is seen commuting to his office in Seoul on the morning of December 21 last year. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Hana Na] It has been confirmed that Hwang Hee, the nominee for Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, took "sick leave" during his time as a member of the 20th National Assembly and traveled to Spain with his family.

According to data on absences from plenary sessions and committee meetings of the 20th National Assembly, obtained by Rep. Choi Hyung-doo of the People Power Party from the National Assembly Secretariat on the 7th, Hwang was absent from a total of 17 plenary sessions between 2016 and 2021.

He provided reasons for absence 12 times, of which 8 were due to "personal reasons (sick leave)."

After analyzing the immigration records of Hwang and his spouse and children, Rep. Choi's office found that on July 20, 2017, the day of a plenary session, Hwang submitted sick leave and departed for Spain with his family.

That plenary session was to handle the first supplementary budget bill since the inauguration of the Moon Jae-in administration, but 26 Democratic Party lawmakers did not attend, causing a "lack of quorum" situation.

Additionally, it was reported that in March 2017, Hwang was absent from plenary sessions and went on a business trip to the United States. He submitted sick leave for both plenary sessions held during that business trip period.

Hwang's side acknowledged that he did travel to Spain with his family, but explained that the reason sick leave was submitted for vacations and business trips was due to "an error made by junior secretarial staff with limited work experience when writing the reasons."

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