Opposition Attacks George Ho, Police Chief Nominee's Children for 'Parent Chance'... Allegations of Illegal Gift and Special Privileges for Conscripts (Comprehensive)

Allegations of Illicit Gift to Second Son as "Unavoidable Circumstances"
Denial of Special Treatment for Eldest Son's Military Service: "Unaware of Police Officer Application"
Ruling and Opposition Clash over Non-submission of Documents and Witness Absence

Opposition lawmakers belonging to the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee launched a fierce attack on June 29 against nominee Jo Ji-ho, Commissioner of the National Police Agency, over allegations of illicit gifting and preferential treatment of his eldest son's military service.

George Ho, nominee for Commissioner of the National Police Agency, is speaking at the confirmation hearing held by the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee on the 29th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Mo Kyung-jong, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated at the parliamentary confirmation hearing, "The 2% interest rate appears to be a parental favor. The tax authorities consider financial transactions between family members as gifts. We cannot ignore the issue of illicit gifting," and demanded, "Submit documents equivalent to those required for a tax audit."

Regarding the allegations of illicit gifting to his second son, nominee Jo explained, "There were unavoidable circumstances," and added, "If gifts were to be given, they should be distributed similarly between the eldest and the youngest sons." He further explained, "My son found a job in the U.S. and saved about 100 million won to buy a luxury car, so my wife suggested buying an officetel. Due to contracting COVID-19 and being unable to return to Korea, he was at risk of losing the deposit, so I lent him money and received 250,000 won in interest monthly."

When Mo asked if the document submitted to the National Assembly was an actual loan agreement, nominee Jo replied, "The original loan agreement I initially drafted was lost."

When Yoon Geon-young, also from the Democratic Party of Korea, inquired about preferential treatment regarding the eldest son's military service, nominee Jo said, "I did not know my son joined the police conscripted service," and added, "He is not the kind of child who consults with me." Jo's eldest son served as a police conscript in the 1st Mobile Unit of the Gangwon Provincial Police Agency starting December 2013. At that time, Jo was serving as the head of the Life Safety Division at the Gangwon Police Agency.

Yoon criticized the ethical implications, noting that the police conscript service had a competition rate exceeding 20 to 1, earning it the nickname "police conscript exam," and that Jo's son served in the same regional police agency where Jo worked. Yoon also pointed out that although the eldest son was assigned to the Mobile Unit, he was actually posted to the headquarters for administrative, cooking, and driving duties.

Nominee Jo responded, "Assignments are made based on the training scores received at Nonsan Training Center and personal preferences. Since he was not good at shooting, he failed to be assigned to Gyeonggi Province and was transferred to Gangwon Province," and added, "My son did not go directly to the administrative headquarters upon arrival."

George Ho, nominee for Commissioner of the National Police Agency, is speaking at the confirmation hearing held by the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee on the 29th.
[Photo by Kim Hyun-min]

Lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties clashed over the attendance of witnesses and submission of documents. Lee Kwang-hee of the Democratic Party of Korea said, "There is no precedent for refusing to submit documents related to spouses and children," and added sharply, "I have doubts about whether this confirmation hearing should proceed as is, trying to make an unprecedented case a precedent. Please postpone the hearing until these documents are submitted."

Jo Eun-hee of the People Power Party stated, "We have submitted factual documents regarding children's assets, real estate transactions, stock trading, and cryptocurrency holdings," and questioned, "Requesting remittance details between spouses and children or children's bank account statements goes beyond the purpose of the confirmation hearing and may infringe on constitutional privacy rights." She continued, "During the Moon Jae-in administration, related documents were not submitted at the confirmation hearing of Police Commissioner Min Gap-ryong due to lack of consent from direct descendants. Similarly, former Ministers Kim Young-joo of Employment and Labor and Park Young-sun of SMEs and Startups could not submit documents without their children's consent."

The absence of Lee Won-mo, Secretary for Public Service Discipline at the Presidential Office (former Personnel Secretary), also sparked controversy. Lee Sang-sik of the Democratic Party mentioned allegations that Lee accompanied Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min during interviews of candidates for promotion to Senior Superintendent General ahead of high-ranking police personnel appointments, and claimed, "The refusal of this key witness to appear is an insult to the National Assembly." Jeong Dong-man of the People Power Party defended, saying, "It is regrettable to see a witness list filled with irrelevant and forced names. I worry this hearing will end up as a meaningless event with only contamination left behind."

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