Hwang Hee, 'Comprehensive Set of Suspicions'... People Power Party Says "Reflect on Whether You Are Qualified as Minister"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] The People Power Party criticized Hwang Hee, the nominee for Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, calling him a "comprehensive gift set of suspicions."

Ahead of Hwang's confirmation hearing scheduled for the 9th at the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, the People Power Party issued a statement on the 7th, sharply urging him to "reflect on whether he is qualified to be a minister."

On the 20th, when President Moon Jae-in reshuffled three ministries, Hwang Hee, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea who was nominated as the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, expressed his thoughts at the National Assembly Members' Office Building. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Park Ki-nyung, deputy spokesperson for the People Power Party, sarcastically said, "People are lining up to learn in detail how Hwang's family of three lives on 600,000 won."

According to the wage income withholding receipt submitted by Hwang to the National Assembly, it is estimated that Hwang's family of three spent about 7.2 million won annually after excluding monthly rent, debt repayments, insurance premiums, and donations. This means they spent about 600,000 won per month on living expenses for the family of three.

However, during the 20th National Assembly, controversy arose over Hwang taking sick leave to go on a family trip. In July 2017, while traveling to Spain with his family, Hwang reportedly took sick leave from the National Assembly and was absent from the plenary session for the supplementary budget bill.

Deputy spokesperson Park pointed out, "During the 20th National Assembly, he took sick leave to go on a family trip to Spain, went on a business trip to the United States, and traveled to Spain with about 10 aides, while being absent from plenary sessions," adding, "Even the explanation that the secretaries mistakenly recorded it as sick leave is hard to accept."

He continued, "I am curious about what excuse he will use to evade responsibility regarding the suspicion that he used an official passport, which is issued for official overseas trips and provides various benefits, for personal use when traveling abroad with his family."

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