Kim Haeng Absent from June 6 Confirmation Hearing... Opposition Calls It "Worst Hearing in National Assembly History"

Hearing Held Amid Candidate and Ruling Party's Absence
Recess After 30 Minutes, Opposition Says "We Will Wait"
Opposition Points Out Meeting Disruption, Demands 'Appointment Withdrawal'

The parliamentary confirmation hearing for Kim Haeng, the nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family, was held again on the 6th following the session on the 5th, but neither Kim nor the ruling party members of the National Assembly's Gender Equality and Family Committee attended the meeting. In response, opposition party members condemned it as "the worst hearing in the history of the National Assembly" and demanded the withdrawal of the nomination.

On the morning of the 6th, the confirmation hearing for nominee Kim was held at the National Assembly. The hearing began around 10:16 a.m. with members of the ruling Democratic Party's Gender Equality and Family Committee and Yong Hye-in of the Basic Income Party in attendance, but Kim and the ruling party members did not appear. The previous night, Kim and the ruling party members left the meeting room, accusing the committee chair of conducting the hearing in a biased manner.

Committee Chair Kwon In-sook stated, "The nominee, who promised to explain everything if the hearing was held, refused to submit materials and abruptly left," adding, "This is a historic unprecedented incident where the nominee failed to fulfill even the minimum responsibility to the public." She continued, "To proceed with the hearing as promised to the public, we had no choice but to change the session and continue the meeting," and said, "The ruling party's absence is a failure to fulfill their duties as lawmakers." She also urged the government, saying, "President Yoon Seok-yeol must make a prompt decision regarding a nominee who is unqualified to handle the hearing."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Other opposition members also criticized Kim's absence. Representative Yong said, "This is a warning to the Yoon Seok-yeol administration," adding, "If they force the appointment of Kim after disrupting the hearing in this manner, it would truly be an insult to the people and the National Assembly."

Democratic Party Representative Yang Kyung-sook also said, "This is the first large-scale disaster in history where a ministerial nominee not only fled during the hearing but also cut off all contact," and emphasized, "Kim must never be appointed as Minister of Gender Equality and Family."

The Gender Equality and Family Committee recessed the meeting about 30 minutes after the opening remarks that morning. Chair Kwon stated, "We will wait until midnight today for (Kim's attendance)."

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