Kim Haeng, on criticism of generating sexual harassment reports... "The reality of South Korean media"

Kim Geon-hee Friendship Rumor Denied: "Not a Member of Wol-danhoe"
Opposition Demands Resignation, Focused Inquiry on Personal Background

Kim Haeng, the nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family, stated on the 5th during the National Assembly confirmation hearing that she feels "ashamed" regarding the criticism that a media company where she served as vice president engaged in sexually harassing reporting, adding that this is "the current reality of the South Korean media."

During the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly that morning, Kim responded to a question from Yong Hye-in, a lawmaker from the Basic Income Party, who asked, "Do you think the head of a media company that produced maliciously sexist secondary victimization reports can become the head of a gender equality ministry?"

Lawmaker Yong listed the titles of articles from the media company where Kim was vice president, which had received corrective recommendations from the Korea Press Arbitration Commission since 2018. Yong criticized the reports titled "Despicable Act" and "Shameless Act," calling them "incorrect reports that downplay the severity of the perpetrator's actions." She also said, "The problem is not only the coverage of the incidents but also the malicious production of sexually harassing reports about female entertainers."

She continued, "Since you admitted feeling ashamed, you should resign," and questioned, "Do you think it is appropriate for the Minister of Gender Equality and Family to be the representative of a media company that operated in such a manner?"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In response, Kim said, "If you look at the timing of the issues pointed out, major South Korean media companies ranked 1 to 3, which are larger than ours, were all involved," adding, "So I say it is a shameful South Korean media company." She also mentioned, "Since 2021, we have operated an ombudsman system."

Meanwhile, Kim repeatedly denied rumors of a close relationship with First Lady Kim Geon-hee. She also stated that she was not a member of the group called 'Woldanhoe,' which the First Lady is known to belong to.

When Yang Kyung-sook, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, asked, "Is seeing the First Lady twice all you have?" Kim replied, "As far as I remember, that is correct." When asked, "Did you not meet the First Lady at Woldanhoe either?" she answered, "I am not a member of Woldanhoe." She further rebutted, "I am not a member of Woldanhoe, nor have I ever gone there together, and it is definitely not the same day that I (visited an exhibition) as her."

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