Ministerial Candidate Lee Young of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups: "I Will Place My Shares in Terten and Wi Alliance in a Blind Trust"

Lee Young, nominee for Minister of SMEs and Startups, is attending the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the 11th and taking the witness oath. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporters Kim Bo-kyung, Kwak Min-jae] Lee Young, nominee for Minister of SMEs and Startups, stated on the 11th that he would "proceed with the sale or blind trust in accordance with the Public Officials Ethics Act" regarding unlisted stocks worth 2 billion KRW that he owns.

The National Assembly's Industry, Trade, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee held a confirmation hearing for nominee Lee on the morning of the same day. The issue of conflict of interest concerning Lee became a major topic during the hearing.

The stocks held by nominee Lee consist of 42,000 shares of Y Alliance Investment, a venture capital firm he founded and operated, and 170,720 shares of Terten, an IT security company, totaling approximately 2 billion KRW in value.

Shin Jeong-hoon, a member of the Democratic Party, pointed out, "According to the Public Officials Ethics Act, if the stocks held by a public official conflict with their duties as a member of the National Assembly, disposal is mandatory. However, nominee Lee did not dispose of the stocks during his time as a lawmaker and changed his relevant standing committee."

In response, nominee Lee said, "As I was selected through proportional representation, the time to organize the company was tight, there were concerns about the job security of employees, and the situation was difficult due to COVID-19."

He added, "There was a responsibility as a manager in a situation where it was unclear when and how to dispose of the stocks or who would become the owner," and "We could not reach an agreement during the consultation process."

Nominee Lee stated, "When I was nominated as Minister of SMEs and Startups, I recognized that I needed to make a decision," and "I believe I gave sufficient time over two years to the employees and major shareholders. I expect there will be sufficient understanding regarding this choice."

Finally, he said, "I will proceed with the sale or blind trust in accordance with the Public Officials Ethics Act."

Earlier, opposition Democratic Party lawmakers raised concerns about nominee Lee's passive submission of materials during parliamentary proceedings. They requested documents related to stock transactions and dividend receipts of Terten and Y Alliance, companies founded by nominee Lee, as well as lists of registered executives, but he did not comply.

Additionally, the opposition repeatedly demanded the attendance of witnesses, arguing that the reasons for refusal of appearance by Yoo Young-il, CEO of Terten, and Kim Sang-yong, CEO of Y Alliance, were not reasonable.

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