"Kim Haeng says 'I will explain at the hearing,' will it clear suspicions... Opposition's focused offensive on 'background check'"

Hearing Scheduled for the Morning of the 5th, Both Ruling and Opposition Parties Likely to Attend
Focus on Verifying Controversies Related to Kim Geon-hee's Friendship Allegations and Stock Parking Issues

The National Assembly confirmation hearing for Kim Haeng, nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family, will be held at 10 a.m. on the 5th. Amid numerous allegations raised against nominee Kim, the opposition party plans to focus their questioning on Kim's personal background.

The ruling and opposition parties showed sharp differences regarding attendance at the hearing until the day before. Jeong Gyeong-hee, the secretary of the Gender Equality and Family Committee from the People Power Party, stated the previous day, "Without an apology from the standing committee chair and the (Democratic Party) secretary, we cannot attend the hearing," claiming that the opposition was pushing for a solo hearing. After negotiations between the floor leaders of both parties, ruling party members decided to attend the hearing.

The opposition plans to thoroughly verify controversies related to nominee Kim's personal background. According to current media reports, allegations have been raised that Kim has a close relationship with First Lady Kim Geon-hee. Since 2013, when Kim served as the Blue House spokesperson under the Park Geun-hye administration, there have been numerous events jointly held by Wikitree, founded by Kim, and Cobana Contents, established by the First Lady.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In particular, suspicions have continued regarding the process by which Kim transferred management rights of Wikitree after becoming the Blue House spokesperson in 2013. Kim stated that she sold all her shares at that time and had no involvement with Wikitree until 2019. However, according to the submitted career certificate, she reportedly maintained the position of vice president of Wikitree from 2016 to the present. Additionally, controversy arose as it was revealed that she received an annual salary of approximately 75 million KRW from Wikitree during overseas training.

She was also embroiled in controversy over allegedly 'parking' shares of Social News under another person's name. Kim explained that during the process of placing her stocks in a blind trust upon her appointment as Blue House spokesperson, she transferred her shares to a co-founder and her husband's shares to her sister-in-law. However, allegations emerged that Kim's shares were transferred to her sister-in-law, and her spouse's shares were transferred to the sister-in-law and an acquaintance of the spouse, raising concerns that the blind trust system was being undermined.

The opposition also plans to question allegations that Wikitree extensively published articles related to the Korean Institute for Gender Equality Promotion and Education (KIGEPE) during Kim's tenure as its head from 2014 to 2015, and that government advertising volume for Wikitree significantly increased while she served as Blue House spokesperson.

Nominee Kim is expected to attend the hearing and clarify her position on the related allegations. Previously, she avoided answering the opposition's requests for information and reporters' questions by stating, "I will explain at the hearing." Kim's confirmation hearing preparation team issued a statement the day before, saying, "We will provide detailed explanations regarding matters related to the nominee at the hearing."

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