Candidate Shin Won-sik's Confirmation Hearing to Be Held on the 27th

Ruling and Opposition Parties Clash Over Candidate Suitability

The confirmation hearing for Shin Won-sik, the nominee for Minister of National Defense, will be held at the National Assembly at 9 a.m. on the 27th. The hearing will be open to the public in principle, but will be conducted behind closed doors when discussing national secrets such as military and diplomatic matters. The National Defense Committee of the National Assembly held a plenary meeting on the morning of the 20th and adopted a personnel hearing plan with these details.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

During the meeting, there was a dispute between the ruling and opposition parties over whether Shin's appointment as minister was appropriate, and since the list of witnesses has not yet been finalized, the party whips agreed to continue consultations.

Shin Won-sik, the nominee for Minister of National Defense, has previously stated that "it is desirable that the September 19 military agreement, concluded between the Moon Jae-in administration and North Korea's Kim Jong-un in 2018, be definitely abolished." North Korea violated the September 19 military agreement several times last year by firing missiles beyond the Northern Limit Line (NLL) and infiltrating unmanned aerial vehicles into Yongsan. In particular, the September 19 agreement significantly reduced reconnaissance and fighter jet operational areas near the Military Demarcation Line, which has been criticized as disadvantageous to our military, which possesses overwhelmingly superior air power compared to North Korea.

In 2019, Shin caused controversy by stating in a YouTube broadcast that the December 12 coup by the new military regime under Chun Doo-hwan was "an effort to save the country during the power vacuum after President Park Chung-hee passed away." He also harshly criticized former Presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Moon Jae-in with strong language before becoming a member of the National Assembly. Regarding his remarks that appeared to support the coup, he explained repeatedly that "my words were edited out of context, causing misunderstandings," and that he "fully accepts the Supreme Court's final ruling and the government's historical evaluation."

Regarding plans to remove the bust of General Hong Beom-do installed in front of the Ministry of National Defense building and to rename the Navy submarine ‘Hong Beom-do,’ he said, "Once I take office, I will listen to various opinions, thoroughly review them, and then inform the public of the direction."

Shin also strongly denied allegations that he fabricated the cause of death of a unit member while serving as a company commander in October 1985, calling it "almost a novel." He said, "The investigation by the Military Death Accident Investigation Committee was too far from the facts and was one-sided based on distorted memories," adding, "I will reveal detailed information through legal battles."

Meanwhile, the National Defense Committee decided at the meeting to refer the ‘National Assembly Public Petition’ calling for a state investigation into the death of Marine Corps member the late Chae Sang-byeong to the Petition Review Subcommittee for discussion. The petition was posted last month by the Military Human Rights Center and, after being made public, received over 50,000 endorsements, leading to its referral to the National Defense Committee, the relevant standing committee of the National Assembly.

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