Candidate Kim In-cheol denies 'Self-approval as Outside Director' suspicion, says "Received Chairman's Approval"

Suspicions of Self-Approval for Concurrent Outside Director Position at Lotte Advanced Materials
"Received Approval for Concurrent Position from School Corporation"
Allegations of Investigation into Gold Spoon Students and Alumni at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
"Vice President Approved, Ordered Immediate Suspension Upon Awareness"

Kim In-cheol, candidate for Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, arrived at the confirmation hearing preparation office set up at the Korea Educational Facilities Safety Institute in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 14th, responding to questions from the press. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Kim Incheol, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education nominee, stated that he obtained approval from the chairman of the school foundation for concurrently serving as an outside director of Lotte Advanced Materials (now Lotte Chemical).

On the 19th, the Ministry of Education's confirmation hearing preparation team stated, "It is true that during his tenure as a university president, he concurrently served as an outside director of a specific company after receiving approval from the school foundation, and he obtained the chairman's approval."

According to the service regulations of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, concurrent service as an outside director of a private company is possible with prior approval from the university president, but the nominee additionally requested approval for concurrent service from the school foundation.

The preparation team explained, "The nominee accepted the position of outside director as part of external duties, recognizing it as a way to broaden students' opportunities for social advancement. The company operates overseas subsidiaries in countries using minority foreign languages such as Hungary and India, and it was considered that the nominee's career and experience were suitable for the outside director role, which led to the proposal."

Kim was an outside director of Lotte Advanced Materials from March 22, 2018, to March 21, 2020.

He also clarified media reports that he conducted a 'gold spoon' survey targeting current students and alumni during his tenure as president.

He explained that the Deputy Prime Minister directly approved the survey, and the nominee instructed to stop it immediately upon becoming aware of the matter.

The preparation team stated, "The controversial matter at the time was carried out shortly after the deputy vice president was appointed to the position without prior reporting or consultation with the president. Although regulations stipulate that tasks related to collecting information for development fund fundraising should be handled by the department head (person in charge), the deputy prime minister directly approved and implemented it."

The team added, "The nominee instructed to stop the matter immediately upon awareness, so the actual survey was not conducted. The deputy vice president promptly notified the cancellation of the survey and apologized for causing unnecessary misunderstandings and confusion among students and other university members."

The preparation team concluded, "As the university president responsible for the school, the nominee issued a formal apology again to students and university members through the school website to prevent similar situations from occurring again."

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