From the Beginning of Han Dong-hoon Confirmation Hearing, Ruling and Opposition Clash Over 'Document Submission'... 100 Minutes of Q&A Without Starting, Then Recess

Han Dong-hoon, the nominee for Minister of Justice, attended and was seated at the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the 9th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist Reporter, Kim Dae-hyun Reporter] The confirmation hearing for Han Dong-hoon, the nominee for Minister of Justice, stalled from the outset due to a fierce dispute between ruling and opposition party members over the issue of 'document submission' by the nominee.

At the confirmation hearing of nominee Han, held by the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee starting at 10 a.m. on the 9th, more than 10 members from both parties requested procedural remarks immediately after Han's opening statement, resulting in nearly 100 minutes passing without any Q&A with the nominee. The session was recessed at 11:38 a.m.

Ruling party members argued that the hearing could not proceed because Han had not submitted the requested documents, while opposition members countered by citing former ruling party member Song Ki-heon's past remarks and Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye's case of document non-submission, stating that "document requests should be made to institutions, not the nominee."

The first to make a procedural remark was Kim Young-bae, a member of the Democratic Party, who said, "This is a place to verify the Minister of Justice, a cabinet member called a protector of public interest," adding, "The documents and answers submitted by the nominee are too insufficient. It is impossible to verify him properly."

Kim said, "It is no exaggeration to say that he is currently refusing to provide any documents," and warned, "Since there is also a national audit, if you just evade, hide, and think 'we just need to get through this period,' it will cause a huge problem."

Following him, Lee Soo-jin, also from the Democratic Party, said, "I have rarely seen such a lack of document submission in any confirmation hearing as this one," adding, "which only raises more suspicion."

She asked, "Why are you not providing the entry and exit records of the nominee's spouse and direct relatives since 2004, as well as any nationality changes of the nominee and spouse, dating back to when Han was a prosecutor?"

Kim also said, "We must verify all recommendation letters, internship activities, and volunteer activities of the nominee's direct descendants. According to a deleted blog article, the nominee's child received the Seoul Mayor's Award and an award from an organization under Incheon City based on 20,000 hours of volunteer work. To confirm this, all records related to the child's extracurricular activities, including recommendation letters, internships, and volunteer work, must be checked," adding, "The Minister of Justice of a country must have a stronger sense of lawfulness than anyone else and must say to the public, 'I have abided by the law well, so please appoint me as Minister of Justice.'"

Kim said, "There are suspicions raised in various articles, yet the documents are not submitted," and asked, "How can we judge the qualifications and morality of the ministerial nominee without seeing anything?"

Democratic Party member Kim Nam-guk said, "Recently, the media raised suspicions about the nominee Han Dong-hoon's child's thesis," pointing out, "It is common sense that a first-year high school student could not have written such theses covering medicine and economics, judging by the number of theses, e-books, and publications."

He continued, "It is common sense that one must be at least at a doctoral level to write such theses. The nominee initially explained that portraying it as something a high school student could not do was an intentional frame and distortion, and also claimed that no external help was received," adding, "However, the explanation released yesterday shows that it was not just editing and advice but that a Kenyan writer actually wrote it on behalf of the child. The document contains information, including the date of writing and specific circumstances. The initial explanation denying external help was a false explanation, and I believe it was a lie told knowingly."

He added, "To proceed with the hearing properly, I think the nominee should first apologize to the public for this clear lie before continuing the hearing process."

Kim said, "The nominee prosecuted former Minister Cho Kuk's child for lacking a few hours of volunteer work, conducting investigations and searches," adding, "But when we requested documents to verify the nominee's child's organization, which reportedly did over 20,000 hours of volunteer work, the documents were not provided. We demand submission of all volunteer records and related documents."

Meanwhile, in response to these attacks from Democratic Party members, People Power Party members argued that under the confirmation hearing law, document requests should not be made to the nominee but to institutions, and that some of the documents requested by the Democrats were absurd.

Kim Hyung-dong, a member of the People Power Party, said, "I looked up the minutes and will read them as is," pointing out, "'According to Article 12 of the Confirmation Hearing Act, document requests cannot be made to the nominee but must be made to national institutions, local governments, or other agencies. Do not tell the nominee to submit or not submit documents; tell the institutions seated behind to submit them.' This was said by Democratic Party member Song Ki-heon during former Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae's confirmation hearing."

He added, "During the 2019 hearing of former Minister Chu, all personal information-related documents were refused consent, and there were zero witness adoptions," and criticized, "Minister Park Beom-gye also refused to submit personal documents regarding his child's medical history and real estate transactions during his hearing."

Kim said, "Today's hearing should naturally follow the National Assembly Act and the standards and procedures of our committee, but looking at the current proceedings, many of the document requests are unrelated and absurd."

During Kim's remarks, Democratic Party member Lee Soo-jin shouted, "Why is that absurd? Do you have any legal basis for calling it absurd?" Kim apologized, saying, "I apologize for using the term 'absurd.'"

Regarding Kim's criticism, Song Ki-heon requested to speak, saying, "It seems there is a desire to understand the Confirmation Hearing Act accurately," and explained, "Document requests can be made to the chairperson, and it is correct that the chairperson should request the institutions."

Song said, "Often, personal documents cannot be provided because the individual does not consent, so when we request documents, we urge the chairperson to consider this," adding, "If necessary for the hearing, please urge the individual to consent."

He continued, "Sometimes during hearings, requests are made directly to the nominee, but it should be done through the chairperson, and if personal consent is needed, it can be requested from the nominee. The principle is that the chairperson urges the nominee if deemed necessary."

Next, Jeon Ju-hye, a People Power Party lawmaker, said, "Under the Confirmation Hearing Act, the person required to submit documents is not the nominee but national institutions, local governments, or other agencies," adding, "There are many cases where documents were not submitted due to lack of family consent. Former Minister Park Beom-gye refused to answer 458 requested documents."

People Power Party member Yoon Han-hong said, "Watching the dispute over document requests is truly disheartening," adding, "I know that during the five years of Moon Jae-in's administration, 34 ministers were appointed ignoring the National Assembly."

"I will not name anyone who was in front of us then. I brought a PowerPoint to show what you said on screen, but I will not display it," he said, criticizing, "'Let's verify policy expertise and morality. Let's not dig into families or humiliate them.' These were your own words."

He continued, "What did President Moon say? 'If there is no illegality, it would be a bad precedent not to proceed just because of suspicions.' You all laughed and agreed to that. Have you changed 180 degrees today? Are you denying everything?"

There were also voices of dissatisfaction toward Democratic Party member Park Kwang-on, the chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee.

People Power Party member Park Hyung-soo said, "I will make a real procedural remark," and criticized, "Chairman, what is a procedural remark? Making questions during a procedural remark is wrong."

Park emphasized, "It is the chairman's duty to restrain remarks unrelated to procedural matters," adding, "He is failing in that duty."

He urged, "In the future, if a remark is not truly procedural, please have it made during the main questioning, and proceed accordingly."

In response to criticism of Chairman Park Kwang-on's handling of procedural remarks, Park said, "Since the remarks included statements about document requests, please consider that when listening."

Democratic Party members Kim Jong-min and Song Ki-heon also demanded an apology for the use of the term '검수완박' (partial repeal of prosecution powers) during Han's opening statement and opposition members' remarks.

The dispute between ruling and opposition parties over Han's document submission continued, and the hearing was recessed at around 11:38 a.m. for consultation between party floor leaders without starting the Q&A with the nominee, even after 1 hour and 40 minutes since the hearing began.

The hearing is scheduled to resume at 11:50 a.m.

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