Adoption of Confirmation Report for Hyun-Song Shin Fails... To Be Reconsidered on the 20th

Allegations of Daughter's Passport Law Violations Emerge After Confirmation Hearing

The ruling and opposition parties attempted to adopt the confirmation hearing report for Shin Hyun-song, nominee for the Governor of the Bank of Korea, on April 17, but failed to do so.

Shin Hyun-song, nominee for the Governor of the Bank of Korea, is drinking water while attending a confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly’s Finance and Economy Planning Committee on April 15, 2026. Photo by Hyunmin Kim

The National Assembly’s Finance and Economy Planning Committee (Finance Committee) convened a plenary session at 3 p.m. that day and tabled the "motion to adopt the confirmation hearing report" for Shin, but was unable to reach a resolution.

The process broke down as the opposition party raised issues over allegations that Shin’s daughter violated the Passport Act, which is among several controversies about his personal background. It was revealed that Shin’s eldest daughter, who holds British citizenship, had her Korean passport reissued in 2022 and used it for immigration screenings. Although she lost her Korean nationality in 1999 upon acquiring British citizenship, she failed to report her loss of nationality for 27 years.

Park Dae-chul, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, stated during the plenary session, "There are many expectations and positive assessments regarding the nominee’s qualifications, global economic expertise, and capabilities," but added, "If there were no other issues, I would want to take the lead in quickly adopting the confirmation hearing report, but a clear illegal issue has arisen." He further pointed out, "Shin claimed that actions such as his daughter’s change of residence were mistakes made due to unclear residency, but this has been proven false. This is a clear violation of the law."

Cheon Ha-ram, a lawmaker from the Reform Party, also criticized, "Because the confirmation hearing was misleading on this key issue, the hearing report should not be adopted today."

On the other hand, the ruling party argued that the issue concerning an adult daughter should not prevent the adoption of the confirmation hearing report. Kim Young-hwan, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, said, "The issue of nationality for a daughter who is living independently in the United States should be considered separately and should not be unfairly linked to the nominee’s morality as a public official, as if by guilt by association."

In response, Im I-ja, chairperson of the Finance Committee, declared a recess, asking the floor leaders to continue discussions. Ultimately, however, the ruling and opposition parties failed to reach an agreement to adopt the confirmation hearing report that day. This contrasts with the confirmation reports for previous Bank of Korea governors, Lee Ju-yeol and Rhee Changyong, which were adopted on the day of their hearings.

The floor leaders of both parties are currently discussing whether to convene another plenary session at 2 p.m. on April 20. A high-ranking official of the Finance Committee commented, "The floor leaders are currently deliberating whether the various personal controversies surrounding Shin are acceptable in the eyes of the public," and added, "Since it is not appropriate to leave the position of Bank of Korea governor vacant even for a single day, we are awaiting an agreement between the floor leaders." The current governor, Rhee Changyong, will complete his term on April 20.

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