Park Ju-min: "We will discuss the sole adoption of Kim Oh-soo's hearing report... Some explanations have been provided"

Kim Oh-soo, nominee for Prosecutor General, attended the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the 26th. After taking the witness oath, he greeted Park Joo-min, acting chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] Park Joo-min, the ruling party's floor whip on the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee and a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, announced that they will discuss whether to adopt the confirmation hearing report for Kim Oh-soo, the nominee for Prosecutor General, solely by the ruling party. He stated that most of the controversies have been sufficiently explained.

On the 27th, Park appeared on MBC Radio's "Kim Jong-bae's Focus" and said, "Considering the current situation and stance of the opposition party, it is unlikely that the confirmation hearing report will be adopted." When asked if it could be adopted solely by the Democratic Party, he replied, "We need to discuss this with the members of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee today, including this aspect, and also consult with the party leadership."

During the hearing held the previous day, a confrontation escalated during the afternoon questioning when Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Yong-min mentioned allegations of preferential treatment for former officials by People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Sang-beom, eventually leading to a breakdown of the session. The Blue House is expected to request the resubmission of the confirmation hearing report.

Regarding this, Park said, "We agreed to apologize, but also asked the other side to at least express regret, and conveyed this to the People Power Party, but they responded that it was not possible."

He also stated, "The personal issues raised by the opposition party have been somewhat clarified," adding, "It is difficult to say definitively, but I believe the substantive requirements, such as the candidate's qualifications, have been cleared."

Concerning the controversy over high consulting fees, he said, "There are some regrets, but the nominee has apologized several times." Regarding political neutrality, he said, "The biggest issue raised by the opposition was the attempt to exclude former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl during the investigation of former Minister Cho Kuk. However, upon checking, the person who allegedly discussed this appeared before the National Assembly and stated that such an incident did not occur. At that time, he was the Deputy Prosecutor General."

Regarding the controversy about forming a special investigation team for former Minister Cho Kuk and excluding former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, he said, "There was no talk of excluding Yoon Seok-youl, as the Deputy Prosecutor General testified before the National Assembly at that time," adding, "Since apologies and explanations have been made gradually in this manner, I think there is no major problem."

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