Poet Choi Young-mi Criticizes Ministerial Appointments: "Success in This Regime Requires Corruption and Decay"

Targeting Minister of Culture Hwang Hee, "How can such a person be Minister of Culture?"
During the National Assembly plenary session, traveling to Spain called "class president sneaking out during classroom cleaning time"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Poet Choi Young-mi, who sparked the 'Me Too movement,' strongly criticized an appointee of the current administration. The target was Hwang Hee, the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, who began his term today (the 11th). On the 10th, she wrote on Facebook, "How can someone like this be the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism?" and added, "Traveling to Europe during the National Assembly session is bad. It's like a class president sneaking out during class cleaning time."

This was a sharp remark regarding a trip to Spain taken during the plenary session of the National Assembly. Minister Hwang took sick leave in July 2017 and traveled to Spain with his family. At that time, the plenary session was discussing the first supplementary budget of the Moon Jae-in administration, but twenty-six members of the Democratic Party of Korea were absent, causing a lack of quorum. The members of the Liberty Korea Party (People Power Party), who had collectively walked out, returned, and the supplementary budget was barely passed.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism nominee Hwang Hee is attending the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the 9th, taking the oath as a witness. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

At the confirmation hearing of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee on the 9th, Hwang stated, "There was no plenary session when I departed for the trip. I went with the permission of the floor leader, but the supplementary budget plenary session was scheduled afterward," and apologized, saying, "It was ultimately an inappropriate action." Regarding the suspicion raised by media reports about a monthly living expense of 600,000 won, he said, "I never mentioned 600,000 won myself." He explained, "The amount reported by the media was simply the credit card bill of 7.2 million won divided by 12 months, excluding apartment rent, insurance premiums, children's tuition, donations, and debt repayments. They calculated it assuming there was no balance in my bank account. Actual living expenses were around 3 million won."

Regarding the criticism that he has forty-six family-named bank accounts, he said, "I failed twice as a preliminary candidate for the National Assembly election and kept running, so I couldn't organize the accounts. Most are small accounts, so I don't even know how much is in them." However, poet Choi criticized, "A monthly card expenditure of 600,000 won? Even I, living alone, spend 10 million won on cards a year. Forty-six family-named bank accounts! Good brains are always used only for things like that. What will the children learn?" She wrote, "I no longer have the strength to be angry. To succeed in this administration, corruption and decay are essential."

People Power Party lawmakers, including Lee Dal-gon, the party's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee secretary, are protesting the vote on the adoption of the confirmation hearing report for Hwang Hee, the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism nominee, held at the National Assembly on the 10th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Although various suspicions have not been fully resolved, President Moon Jae-in approved Hwang's appointment on the 10th. Earlier, the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee adopted the confirmation hearing report despite opposition from People Power Party members. Thus, Minister Hwang became the twenty-ninth minister appointed in the current administration without opposition party consent.

Poet Choi is from the so-called 86-generation activist background. She is regarded as a literary figure who reflects on her past mistakes and voices conscientious criticism by exposing the hypocrisy and corruption of the 86 generation. In 2017, through her poem "Monster," she exposed poet Ko Un's sexual harassment allegations and directly criticized the literary establishment's power that avoided bringing such allegations to light.

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