Yoo In-chon Hearing Blacklist Dispute... Ruling and Opposition Parties Clash Over "Overflowing Evidence vs Political Offensive"

Opposition's 'Profanity' Backlash Over Ruling Party's Mention of "Lee Jae-myung Indictment"... 90-Minute Hearing Halted
Opposition Calls 'Dad's Chance' Over 'Two Sons' Apartment Purchases', Ryu Says "All Gift Taxes Paid"

On the 5th, the ruling and opposition parties clashed over the so-called cultural and artistic community 'blacklist' allegations during the confirmation hearing of Yoo In-chon, the nominee for Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, held by the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The opposition party, the Democratic Party of Korea, focused on questioning Yoo about allegations that he managed and executed the blacklist during the Lee Myung-bak (MB) administration, while the ruling party, the People Power Party, labeled this as a political attack and actively defended Yoo by giving him opportunities to explain.

Democratic Party lawmaker Lim Jong-sung referred to documents reportedly prepared by the National Intelligence Service during the MB government titled "Neutralizing Anti-Government Political Activities of Pro-North Korean Forces in the Arts Sector," claiming, "There is circumstantial evidence that Yoo directly received this document stating that pro-North Korean artists should be neutralized."

When Yoo denied such facts, Lim criticized, "It is very regrettable that despite overwhelming evidence, there is no remorse, and continuously denying the existence of the MB government blacklist amounts to perjury." He then cited the white paper on the blacklist incidents of the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations, created by the Cultural and Artistic Community Blacklist Truth Investigation and System Improvement Committee during the Moon Jae-in administration, stating, "Yoo's name is mentioned 104 times. The evidence and testimonies point to the nominee."

Opposition party whip Kim Yoon-duk also pointed out, "If the nominee knew about the blacklist, he is an accomplice; if he did not, he is a fool," followed by further questioning from lawmakers Lee Byung-hoon, who called it a "resurgence of the blacklist," and Yoo Jung-joo, who said, "Everyone knows, but he shamelessly claims ignorance."

On the other hand, People Power Party lawmaker Kim Seung-soo repeatedly asked Yoo, "Is it true that you have never seen or heard of the blacklist? Have you ever been punished for related allegations?" Yoo responded, "No." Kim then criticized the Democratic Party, saying, "They continue political attacks based on completely unfounded facts."

Fellow party member Lee Yong also pointed out, "There were no complaints or accusations, and now suddenly calling Yoo In-chon the 'mastermind of the blacklist' is something to reconsider." Lawmaker Bae Hyun-jin defended the documents cited by the opposition, saying, "The sources are unknown, and none of the plans in the documents were executed," adding, "The documents have no credibility at all," while focusing on policy inquiries.

Throughout the hearing, the opposition's questions centered on the blacklist allegations, and the ruling party summoned Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, causing the hearing to be suspended for about an hour and a half. Kim Seung-soo said, "It is a big problem to push with assumptions and a white paper made by that group rather than concrete circumstances and evidence," adding, "By that logic, Lee, who has been indicted with numerous proven crimes and abundant evidence, should be held accountable and step down. This is a contradictory argument."

In response, opposition lawmakers protested, asking, "Why is Lee Jae-myung being brought up here?" and the meeting was suspended. During this process, opposition whip Kim Yoon-duk used a vulgar expression '00 XXhane' directed at the ruling party. About 90 minutes later, when the meeting resumed, ruling party whip Lee Yong-ho requested, "Please express regret and apologize for using such language," to which Kim replied, "I apologize for the offensive expression," and the hearing proceeded normally.

During the hearing, a tense exchange also occurred over the issue of gift tax payment related to the purchase of an apartment by Yoo's children. Lawmaker Lim Oh-kyung mentioned that in 2015, Yoo's sons, aged 31 and 27 at the time, purchased an apartment in Oksu-dong, Seongdong-gu, without a mortgage loan, with Yoo's funds supplemented, asking, "Are the sons exceptionally capable, or did they use 'dad's chance'?" and demanded submission of gift tax documents. Lim Jong-sung supported this, saying, "If the tax was paid properly, there is no reason not to submit the documents."

Yoo countered, "My children are already adults with independent livelihoods, and they refused disclosure themselves, so they declined notification according to guidelines," and "The gift tax was fully paid."

According to documents confirmed by the two lawmakers, Yoo's eldest and second sons purchased apartments in Oksu-dong, Seongdong-gu, for 755 million won and 625 million won, respectively. The second son, who had just been discharged from the military at the time, sold the existing apartment four years later and bought a larger unit in the same complex for 1.76 billion won.

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