"Yoo Sang-im's Son Suspected of Marijuana Use During Illegal Stay in US"…Opposition Demands Resignation of Science Minister Nominee

Opposition lawmakers urged Yusang-im, the nominee for Minister of Science and ICT, to voluntarily resign, accusing him of attempting to conceal allegations related to his son.

Yoo Sang-im, nominee for Minister of Science and ICT Photo by Yonhap News

On the 9th, members of the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Communications Committee from the Democratic Party and the Innovation Party issued a statement to this effect. The day before, a confirmation hearing for nominee Yu was held at the committee.

Opposition hearing committee members stated, "Following allegations of false address registration and the family's illegal overseas stay, suspicions of the son’s marijuana use have also surfaced," and demanded, "Nominee Yu should admit to attempts to conceal these issues and perjury, and voluntarily resign."

The committee members explained that they had agreed to exercise caution regarding the illness cited as the reason for nominee Yu’s eldest son’s military service exemption during the hearing process. They said, "After reviewing the materials, we concluded that the military exemption due to illness was understandable, and there was a consensus that it was fortunate not to have to raise the issue of the child’s illness."

However, an unexpected fact emerged during the hearing. In February 2013, when nominee Yu’s son was illegally staying in the United States and was hospitalized locally for two weeks, nominee Yu had responded in a preliminary inquiry that "he was hospitalized due to that illness," but the opposition claimed this answer was not true.

They added, "At that time, the son’s inappropriate behavior led residents to report him to the police, and eventually, after a court ruling, he was forcibly hospitalized."

They further stated, "Until then, nominee Yu’s son had never received any diagnosis related to illness, but the nominee claimed his son was hospitalized due to an illness he had never been diagnosed with."

In particular, it was revealed that the hospital prepared a comprehensive record upon discharging nominee Yu’s son, noting that he "had been intermittently inhaling marijuana."

Opposition lawmakers said, "The fundamental problem lies in the nominee trying to cover up potentially damaging matters by attributing them all to his son’s illness." They also criticized the government’s personnel verification system, stating, "If the verification of sensitive issues was this inadequate, then the verification of the nominee’s job competence and expertise could not have been properly conducted either."

Finally, the opposition declared, "Nominee Yu lacks both the expertise and morality required for public office," and called for "his voluntary resignation and President Yoon Seok-yeol’s withdrawal of the nomination."