Political Neutrality and Son's Employment Allegations Raised by Opposition... Kim Oh-soo "No Illegality Found"

Kim Oh-soo, the nominee for Prosecutor General, is attending the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the 26th, responding to questions from lawmakers. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporters Park Cheol-eung, Bae Kyung-hwan] The confirmation hearing for Kim Oh-soo, the nominee for Prosecutor General, saw sharp clashes between the ruling and opposition parties. The People Power Party raised suspicions that the nominee's son might have used so-called 'Dad's Chance' to get a job at a public enterprise, alongside concerns about political neutrality. Kim denied any illegality.

At the National Assembly Judiciary Committee hearing on the 26th, People Power Party lawmaker Jeon Ju-hye said, "The evaluation of the nominee is that he is a 'man to trust.' He is someone who watches the regime and will not take action against the current administration even if the regime changes," pressing him hard.

When asked, "Do you think the Moon Jae-in administration guarantees political neutrality more than other governments?" Kim replied, "I think there is such an aspect."

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Suspicions of the nominee's son's 'Dad's Chance' were also raised. Lawmaker Jeon said, "There was a media report that when the nominee's son applied to a public research institute, he wrote that he was the son of the Prosecutor General, which was not even on the application form, and submitted a careless self-introduction letter but still passed," and demanded submission of materials such as the application form and self-introduction letter from when he changed jobs to another company in 2019.

Jeon said, "Youth unemployment has reached an all-time high, and the fairness of employment exams is emphasized more than ever. The public is suspicious whether 'Dad's Chance' was used."

He also raised concerns about Kim's involvement in the Lime and Optimus case defense, saying, "This is a very serious issue. The refusal to submit materials citing trade secrets regarding law firm activities is problematic. Please submit materials that can confirm what role he played while receiving 29 million won per month as a former vice minister, and whether he exerted influence on oral arguments or prosecutorial investigations."

On the other hand, Democratic Party lawmaker So Byung-chul said, "If there is illegality involving the nominee or his son, materials should naturally be submitted. I want to check, but was the competition fierce at the institution where his son was employed?"

Kim replied, "No, it was not. In the department he attended, it was generally easy to get in," adding, "Two people applied, and both were hired, I heard this time." When asked, "Does that mean there was no illegality?" he said, "Yes."

Meanwhile, in his opening remarks, Kim stated, "The most important duty as Prosecutor General is to successfully settle institutional prosecutorial reforms achieved for the first time in 70 years, and based on this, to complete true prosecutorial reform desired by the public through continuous innovation in investigation practices and organizational culture by the prosecution itself."

He emphasized trust, saying, "Recently, there have even been regrettable criticisms within the prosecution organization about internal conflicts and division, leading to mutual distrust," and added, "I believe the most important task is to become a 'trusted prosecution.'"

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