Park Bo-gyun "Attended Emperor's Birthday Without Invitation" Criticized by Jeong Cheong-rae as "False Testimony"

Rep. Jeong: "According to the Embassy of Japan in Korea, attendance is not allowed without an invitation"
Criticism of "dirty double standards" regarding candidate Park's eldest daughter violating the Overseas Koreans Act

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] Park Bogyun, the nominee for the first Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism under the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, faced intense criticism for submitting inadequate documents and providing insufficient answers during the parliamentary confirmation hearing held on the 2nd.

Earlier that morning, the hearing was disrupted from the start due to disputes over document submissions, with loud exchanges between the two major parties. Democratic Party lawmakers, led by Park Jung, the party's floor spokesperson, along with Jeong Cheong-rae, Yoo Jung-joo, and Jeon Yong-gi, demanded the suspension of the hearing, citing the failure to submit documents related to Park’s inheritance, his children's scholarships, and his employment at Samsung.

During the afternoon session, Park responded to Democratic Party lawmaker Jeon Yong-gi’s criticism regarding his attendance at the 2013 Emperor’s birthday celebration, stating, “I went without an invitation,” and explained, “I was covering how Japanese nationalism operates while tracking the Abe administration’s historical distortions. There is substantive truth and clues on site.”

In response, Democratic Party lawmaker Jeong Cheong-rae pointed out, “According to inquiries made to the First Secretary of the Japanese Embassy, it was confirmed that entry to the Emperor’s birthday celebration was not allowed without an invitation,” adding, “This is the official position of the Japanese Embassy in Korea.”

Park replied, “I will verify this.”

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Then, Lawmaker Jeong raised his voice, saying, “Is the nominee invisible? The embassy’s official stance is that uninvited guests are not admitted, but the nominee’s answer strongly suggests perjury.”

Jeong further questioned, “Through a column by former Minister Cho Kuk, the nominee said, ‘Not everyone needs to become a dragon from a small stream. That instills nihilism in his daughter’s competitors. Afterwards, he focused on illegal and semi-legal methods.’ Are you still proud of your column?”

Park responded, “I believe one must take responsibility for the columns they write.”

Jeong then criticized, “Official documents confirm that the nominee’s daughter violated the Resident Registration Act, the Overseas Migration Act, and the Overseas Korean Registration Act. You said Cho Kuk’s daughter’s diary was scrutinized, the entire family was devastated, and her mother was sentenced to four years in prison over a certificate, calling it a dirty double standard. Isn’t the nominee’s double standard even dirtier?”

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