Yoon's 'Excellent Person' Song Ok-ryul Ultimately Resigns Voluntarily... Yoon Cabinet's 4th Fall (Update)

Candidate Song Ok-ryul "No Confidence in Meeting Public Expectations"
Fourth Resignation Following Kim In-cheol, Jung Ho-young, and Kim Seung-hee

Song Ok-ryeol, nominee for the Chairman of the Fair Trade Commission, is answering questions from the press at a press conference held on the afternoon of the 5th at the Korea Fair Trade Mediation Agency in Jung-gu, Seoul.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) announced on the 10th that Song Ok-ryeol, the nominee for the chairman of the FTC, has withdrawn his nomination. This comes just six days after President Yoon Seok-yeol appointed him on the 4th.

On the same day, Song stated through the FTC’s confirmation hearing preparation team, "I am not confident that I can fulfill the public’s expectations in such a high public office," adding, "I will focus solely on my academic career."

Following Kim In-cheol, the Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education nominee who stepped down voluntarily in May, and Professors Jeong Ho-young and former lawmaker Kim Seung-hee, who were nominated as Minister of Health and Welfare but withdrew, the number of minister-level mid-term withdrawals has risen to four.

Song Ok-ryeol, nominee for the Chairman of the Fair Trade Commission, is answering questions from reporters as he arrives for his first day at the hearing office set up at the Korea Fair Trade Mediation Agency in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 5th.

Song, a professor at Seoul National University School of Law, had been preparing for the confirmation hearing after being nominated as the first FTC chairman under the Yoon administration. Controversy arose when it was revealed that he had made sexually harassing remarks to former students. According to academia, about eight years ago in 2014, during a gathering with over 100 professors and students, he reportedly evaluated the students’ appearances.

At that time, he allegedly told students, "You have medium-high looks, you have medium-low, you have high," and also made comments such as "Don’t you want to be hugged?" and "I want to be hugged." Seoul National University School of Law students had planned to post a protest notice condemning Song. However, Song apologized immediately to the students present, and the parties agreed not to raise the sexual harassment remarks as an issue, which reportedly settled the matter.

After the controversy surfaced following his nomination, Professor Song acknowledged his past mistakes and stated that he was "praising the appearance of the students present."

President Yoon Seok-yeol presiding over the Cabinet meeting on the 5th

Song’s withdrawal marks the fourth case of a minister-level nominee stepping down after being appointed. Kim In-cheol, nominated before President Yoon’s inauguration, resigned 20 days after his nomination when it was revealed that he and his entire family had received scholarships worth tens of millions of won annually. Both Professor Jeong Ho-young of Kyungpook National University Medical School, initially appointed as Minister of Health and Welfare, and former lawmaker Kim Seung-hee, who was appointed after Jeong’s resignation, also stepped down mid-term.

Professor Song, who voluntarily withdrew this time, was a classmate of President Yoon at the Judicial Research and Training Institute (23rd class). He earned his master’s degree from Seoul National University Graduate School and his law degrees (LL.M. and J.S.D.) from Harvard Law School. After returning to Korea, he worked as a lawyer before being appointed as a professor at Seoul National University Law School in 2003. When criticism arose over the failure of personnel screening involving multiple ministerial nominees including Song, President Yoon defended them on the 5th, saying, "Have you ever seen such excellent people among ministers from the previous administration?"

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