Opposition Lacks a 'Knockout Blow,' Only 'Suspicions'... "Fueling the Futility of the Hearing"

Repeated 'Missteps' in Attacks Against Minister Lim Hye-sook of the Ministry of Science and ICT

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] Ahead of the National Assembly confirmation hearing scheduled for the 4th, opposition party lawmakers are launching a series of suspicion attacks against Im Hye-sook, the nominee for Minister of Science and ICT. However, most of these are either just noise or factually incorrect, so there has been no "decisive blow" so far.

Some media outlets have provided press releases in an exclusive manner regarding facts that are only at the level of suspicion, creating a situation where the general public might perceive Im and her family as having committed misconduct such as false address registration. The indiscriminate and unverified personal attacks have led to calls for the "uselessness of confirmation hearings," and it is pointed out that the pattern of the current administration's practice of "unconditional appointment" is being repeated once again.

In this regard, on the 1st, nominee Im denied allegations of false address registration and claims that her children received medical benefits while holding dual nationality, stating that these are "not true."

Regarding the false address registration allegations raised by some opposition lawmakers the previous day, Im firmly rebutted, saying, "Reports by some media that my family and I committed false address registration 13 times for real estate speculation or children's school admission are not true."

She explained, "After marriage, to acquire and maintain eligibility for housing subscription under my name, I registered my address twice at my in-laws' residence, which was not my actual residence, for about 9 months during early newlywed period and about 10 months after returning to Korea, and I deeply regret this. However, during my stay in the U.S. (for study and work), it was impossible to register my resident registration with an overseas address, so I had no choice but to register a domestic address as a nominal address." She added, "I have never actually applied for housing subscription using the housing subscription savings account I have, nor have I gained any financial benefit."

Regarding the criticism that her two children, born in the U.S., hold dual nationality and received domestic health insurance benefits, she explained, "My two children hold Korean nationality (including U.S. nationality) and are Korean citizens. Although born in the U.S., they attended elementary, middle, high school, and university in Korea and currently reside in Korea with a domestic address." She added, "They meet all the criteria for recognition as dependents under the relevant health insurance regulations."

Im also stated, "I believe my children have not received benefits due to their U.S. nationality, and they are currently in the process of renouncing their U.S. nationality following their decision to live as Korean citizens."

Earlier, Im also strongly denied allegations related to the controversy over her "unqualified appointment" as chairperson of the National Science and Technology Council (NST) and accusations of plagiarism involving her students' papers, calling them "groundless."

Park Dae-chul, a member of the People Power Party, claimed through some media outlets that Im violated related laws by holding party membership when she was recommended as a candidate for NST chairperson. According to the announcement posted on the NST website on November 9 last year regarding the recruitment of NST chairperson candidates, the eligibility requirement was "a person not affiliated with any political party," but Im held a party position from January 7, 2019, to January 11, 2021, so she was ineligible to apply.

However, NST directly refuted these allegations. NST issued a press release stating, "The articles of association stipulate that for political neutrality, a person holding party membership cannot be appointed as chairperson, but there is no restriction on applying for or being recommended as a chairperson candidate." In other words, the qualification requirement of "a person not affiliated with any political party" in the chairperson recruitment announcement and recommendation request means only that a person cannot be appointed or serve as chairperson while holding party membership.

NST stated, "Former chairperson Im Hye-sook was received as a candidate through recommendations from related organizations, and although she was a party member during the selection process, she resigned before appointment, thus meeting the qualification requirements set by the articles of association."

Additionally, People Power Party lawmaker Heo Eun-ah and others repeatedly raised allegations that Im plagiarized her students' papers during her time as a professor. However, Im's side rebutted, saying, "Given the nature of science and engineering research, it is natural to share research items with students," and "The papers (alleged to be plagiarized) were written after Im's own papers were published, so the plagiarism allegations are unfounded."

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