Democratic Party and Justice Party: "Han Deok-su's Confirmation Hearing Should Be Postponed Until Data Is Submitted"

Repeated Requests Ignored
Shoddy Verification Undermines Process
Kang Byung-won "Schedule Likely to Be Renegotiated"

Prime Minister nominee Han Duck-soo is answering reporters' questions as he arrives at the National Assembly confirmation hearing preparation office set up in the Korea Productivity Center building in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the morning of the 15th. April 15, 2022 [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] The Democratic Party of Korea and the Justice Party requested a postponement of the schedule one day before the confirmation hearing of Prime Minister nominee Han Deok-su on the 24th.

Eight lawmakers from the Democratic Party and the Justice Party, members of the Special Committee on the Confirmation Hearing for nominee Han, held a press conference at the National Assembly in the afternoon and stated, "We repeatedly requested the sincere submission of materials for verification and clarification of suspicions, but nominee Han's side ultimately refused the National Assembly's demands." The confirmation hearing for nominee Han is scheduled for the 25th and 26th.

They said, "Nominee Han's side still did not provide materials citing reasons such as refusal to consent to the provision of personal information, concerns over privacy invasion, expiration of document retention period, and business secrets making submission impossible," adding, "If the hearing proceeds without essential materials for verification, the authority entrusted to the National Assembly by the public to thoroughly scrutinize high-ranking officials will become meaningless."

They also urged the People Power Party to engage in consultations to reschedule the confirmation hearing.

Democratic Party floor leader Kang Byung-won said in an interview with reporters after the press conference, "Participating in the hearing under these circumstances would mean we are merely a token presence in a sloppy verification process," and added, "We want to state that we cannot participate in the confirmation hearing scheduled for the 25th."

Kang emphasized, "I believe negotiations between the floor leaders of both parties to reschedule the hearing will begin soon," and said, "I trust that nominee Han will take the National Assembly's serious demands more responsibly and faithfully submit the requested materials."

Justice Party lawmaker Bae Jin-kyo, also a member of the special committee, added on the same day, "There are clauses in the confirmation request form stating 'no special remarks' for each item," and explained, "Regarding such clauses, we have been requesting materials from the government for objective verification, but there are quite a few cases where the nominee or their spouse has refused consent, resulting in non-submission of materials."

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