Hearing Opens on the 4th... Opposition Targets Im Hye-suk Nominee for 'Fall'?Will She Survive?

Parliament Science and ICT Broadcasting Committee Hearing from 10 AM

Minister of Science and ICT nominee Im Hye-sook is arriving at the nominee's office set up at Gwanghwamun Post Office in Seoul on the 3rd. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] The confirmation hearing for Im Hye-sook, nominee for Minister of Science and ICT, will be held at the National Assembly on the 4th. The opposition party is launching an all-out campaign to block her appointment, labeling Im as the epitome of 'double standards'?someone who says one thing but does another. While Im acknowledges some issues such as her children's dual citizenship, she denies most of the allegations, stating they are "not true."

The opposition has raised over ten allegations ranging from professional competence to morality, aiming to derail Im's appointment through the hearing. People Power Party lawmakers Heo Eun-ah and Park Sung-joong accused Im of plagiarism, claiming that a paper she submitted to an academic conference closely resembles her student's master's thesis. They also pointed out that among about 20 joint papers co-authored by Im and her spouse, 18 were with Im's students, raising suspicions that she might have added her spouse's name to her students' papers as a form of "spousal assistance" in publishing.

However, Im's side strongly refutes the plagiarism allegations, explaining that "due to the nature of science and engineering fields, professors and students often collaborate on projects, resulting in similar content and shared authorship."

The opposition also questions Im's morality, criticizing that her two daughters accompanied her on overseas trips to academic conferences funded by the government, suggesting these were "pleasure trips." Im's camp denies this, stating, "Although the children accompanied her, all related expenses were personally borne," rejecting the "pleasure trip" allegations. Regarding criticisms about inadequate conference trip reports, they explained, "While attending conferences and presenting papers or organizing academic events, the reports had to be brief due to online system limitations."

Opposition lawmakers further pointed out that Im held membership in the Democratic Party when she applied for the chairperson position at the National Research Council of Science & Technology (NST) last November, arguing this made her ineligible. The NST responded, "It is acceptable as long as she did not hold any party position at the time of appointment, not at the time of application."

Claims about false address registration are also contested by both sides. People Power Party lawmaker Park Dae-chul alleged that despite Im's family residing abroad, they changed their registered address 12 times, with some addresses not actually inhabited, raising suspicions of "false address registration." Im responded, "There was no financial gain involved," but admitted, "Separate addresses were maintained to qualify for and retain housing subscription rights."

Im has admitted and apologized for late payment of comprehensive income tax, her children's dual citizenship, and the use of a down contract, while actively denying other allegations.

Im paid her comprehensive income tax for 2015 and 2018 on the 8th of last month, just before her nomination, and her spouse also paid on the same day. Additionally, her spouse paid comprehensive income tax on the 19th and 20th. When controversy arose over the late payments, Im stated, "I failed to clearly understand the reporting items for comprehensive income, resulting in omission of some income. I sincerely apologize for not reviewing the details thoroughly."

Regarding the dual citizenship of her children, she explained, "I learned about the nationality law during the hearing process. Since both children wish to retain Korean nationality, we have begun the procedure to renounce their U.S. citizenship."

On the allegation of drafting a down contract, she said, "It is not true that I invested in real estate for speculative purposes rather than actual residence. I entrusted the process to a licensed real estate agent and other representatives. I became aware of the underreporting (down contract) during the preparation for this hearing."

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