Democratic and Justice Parties Boycott for Two Consecutive Days... Han Deok-su Confirmation Hearing Exceeds Legal Deadline

Kim & Chang's Failure to Submit Materials from Their Tenure

People Power Party: "Sorry We May Not Meet the Deadline"

Prime Minister nominee Han Duck-soo attended the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the 26th, listening with his eyes closed to the remarks of Kang Byung-won, the Democratic Party of Korea's floor leader. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyun-joo] The confirmation hearing for Prime Minister nominee Han Duck-soo has faced difficulties from the start as it was boycotted for two consecutive days, causing the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's cabinet approval process to struggle. The ruling and opposition parties agreed to end the hearing 30 minutes after it began on the 26th and to reschedule the hearing, but ultimately left a blemish by failing to comply with the Confirmation Hearing Act. According to Article 6, Paragraph 2 of the Confirmation Hearing Act, the review of the confirmation hearing must be completed within 20 days from the date the request for the hearing is submitted. Previously, President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol submitted the request for Han's confirmation hearing to the National Assembly on the 7th.

At the hearing held that day, only Kang Byung-won, the Democratic Party's secretary of the confirmation special committee, and Bae Jin-kyo of the Justice Party attended, excluding members of the People Power Party. Other Democratic Party members did not attend the hearing, stating that their requests for Han's real estate records and documents related to his time as an advisor at Kim & Chang were not accepted.

At the hearing, Representative Kang criticized, "I believe the responsibility to verify suspicions about the new government's prime minister nominee with fairness and common sense from the public's perspective has been entrusted to the National Assembly," adding, "Han claimed to have faithfully submitted the materials requested by the Democratic and Justice parties, but he inadequately submitted only the three examples mentioned yesterday."

Representative Bae also raised her voice, saying, "There are many suspicions regarding the process of accumulating the nominee's assets, so we requested documents, but foreign currency-related information is not being submitted due to refusal to consent to the use of personal information," and asked, "Is this unreasonable or meaningless information even though some People Power Party members also requested it?"

Joo Ho-young, the chairman of the confirmation hearing committee, is talking with Kang Byung-won, the Democratic Party of Korea's secretary, at the confirmation hearing for Prime Minister nominee Han Duck-soo held at the National Assembly on the 26th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

The People Power Party expressed dissatisfaction with the hearing's disruption, calling it 'foot-dragging,' while attempting to soothe tensions by stating they would reschedule the hearing. Seong Il-jong, the People Power Party's secretary of the confirmation special committee, said, "Although it is a long-standing tradition in the National Assembly to adhere to legal deadlines, this beautiful tradition seems to be broken this time, and I sincerely apologize to the public once again," adding, "The opposition's voice is very important in the hearing, and I believe that the public should be guaranteed the opportunity to ask as much as they want through opposition members."

The People Power Party also defended Han against the Democratic Party's claims of insufficient document submission, stating they were inaccurate. Committee member Kim Mi-ae said, "It is unreasonable to demand transaction details of assets belonging to parents who passed away decades ago," emphasizing, "As I mentioned yesterday, Han was prime minister during former President Roh Moo-hyun's administration in 2007. A significant part of the verification was conducted during that confirmation hearing, and it is appropriate to focus on specific matters after that, especially those parts that the public has suspicions about." Representative Choi Hyung-doo added, "Although it took longer to adopt and vote on the hearing report, the prime minister confirmation hearing, the most important gateway for the new government’s launch, has never been delayed like this," and urged, "There are 1,100 document requests; how can all of them be prepared instantly? You need to sift through and prioritize."

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