"Cleared" vs "Not Qualified"... Ruling and Opposition Clash Over Kim Oh-soo

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 Reporter Park Cheol-eung] The ruling and opposition parties are once again locked in an extreme confrontation over Kim Osu, the nominee for Prosecutor General. The Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) judges that there are no major flaws with nominee Kim and is discussing whether to adopt the hearing report unilaterally. The People Power Party (PPP) holds the position that Kim is not qualified to be Prosecutor General.

Park Jumin, the ruling party floor whip on the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee and a DPK lawmaker, appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' on the 27th and said, "Considering the current situation and stance of the opposition party, it is unlikely that the hearing report will be adopted," and when asked if the DPK could adopt it unilaterally, he replied, "We need to discuss this with our committee members today and also consult with the party leadership."

During the hearing held the previous day, an extreme confrontation broke out during the afternoon questioning when DPK lawmaker Kim Yong-min mentioned allegations of preferential treatment for former officials involving PPP lawmaker Yoo Sang-beom, eventually leading to a breakdown of the session. The Blue House is expected to request the resubmission of the hearing report.

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 acceptable."

In response, PPP lawmaker Cho Su-jin appeared on YTN Radio's 'Start New Morning' the same day and said, "Park Jumin came around 11:51 p.m. to say that he would have Kim Yong-min apologize and asked to adopt the hearing report, all of a sudden," adding, "But Kim Yong-min had no intention to apologize, and suddenly asking to adopt the hearing report shows that they never intended to hold the confirmation hearing properly and just wanted to use the opposition as a rubber stamp, treating the opposition as a mere formality."

Cho continued, "Even though I urged to resume the hearing quickly by changing the date because the public is waiting, they declared an automatic adjournment after midnight. There was no intention from the start," criticizing the opposition.

There are also contrasting views on the controversies surrounding nominee Kim. Park said, "The personal issues raised by the opposition have been somewhat clarified," and added, "It's difficult to say definitively, but I believe the essential qualifications, such as the candidate's competence, have been cleared."

Regarding the controversy over high consulting fees, he said, "There are some regrets, but he has apologized several times," and on political neutrality, he said, "The biggest issue raised by the opposition was about excluding former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl during the investigation of former Minister Cho Kuk. But when we looked into it, the person who allegedly discussed this appeared before the National Assembly and stated that there was no such thing. At that time, he was the Deputy Prosecutor General."

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

However, lawmaker Cho said, "Not only I but also those who watched felt that he lacks qualifications and that this is unacceptable," pointing out, "He showed an unprincipled attitude by saying investigations are ongoing on all issues and that he doesn't know because he hasn't been briefed. Above all, he said that defending the 2 trillion won fraud cases of Lime and Optimus was a valuable time to experience the hardships of the people closely."

He continued, "Moon Jae-in's prosecution reform is actually about fundamentally blocking investigations into the established powers. But on this issue, the nominee spoke in a way far from having conviction, saying, 'I don't know well, and it's difficult to answer as a nominee.' If so, he can only be seen as unqualified."

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