"Concurrent Holding Permitted by Law" Defiance… 63% View Appointment as "Wrong"

[Anchor]

Yong Hye-in, nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family, held a press conference lasting over 30 minutes, stating her intention to serve simultaneously as both a proportional representative lawmaker and a minister. Public opinion showing that her nomination was a mistake has been tallied at 63%, increasing the burden on the presidential office and the ruling party.

Today's first report comes from reporter Kim Jin-woo.

[Reporter]

Yong Hye-in, nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family, had previously avoided questions and answers with reporters on her way to work, stating she would explain various controversies and suspicions, including the issue of concurrently holding a proportional representative lawmaker seat and a ministerial post, during her confirmation hearing.

Yesterday afternoon, she requested an unscheduled press conference at the National Assembly and poured out explanations and rebuttals for over 30 minutes as if determined.

The conclusion was that she would give up neither the lawmaker seat nor the minister position.

[Yong Hye-in/Nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family: Serving concurrently as a member of the National Assembly and a member of the State Council is permitted by law in principle. We must look back on whether the custom of resigning from a proportional representative lawmaker seat was not conceived as a division of spoils among politicians.]

Regarding criticisms over whether she is clinging to her lawmaker seat because of state subsidies for the Basic Income Party, she sharply criticized the People Power Party, saying, "The People Power Party, which received tens of billions of won in state subsidies and acted as a gatekeeper for the ringleader of an insurrection, is a parasitic party," and expressed frustration at criticisms coming from the Democratic Party.

[Yong Hye-in/Nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family: I feel regrettable that even within a faction of the Democratic Party, there is a tendency to be swept away by groundless speculations and malicious agitation.]

In response to criticisms that it is a "family party" because her spouse holds a party position, she protested by asking what the problem is with a 40-year-old worker receiving an average monthly salary of 2.5 million won, and claimed that suspicions such as "giving preferential work to close associates" or "phantom provincial and city chapters" are groundless speculations.

It amounts to sticking to her "my way" approach despite various controversies and suspicions that have erupted successively since her nomination as a minister, drawing critical reactions from both the ruling and opposition parties.

The People Power Party urged President Lee to withdraw the nomination, calling it "a deception against the public and brazen-faced."

The Democratic Party did not release an official response, but within the party, cold reactions were dominant, such as "At the very least, an expression of regret should have been made" or "It seems like she is telling the presidential office not to withdraw the nomination because she has no problems at all."

In the NBS opinion poll released yesterday, 63% of respondents answered that Yong's nomination was a "wrong appointment," while 17% answered it was a "good appointment."

Regarding Kim Seung-won, nominee for Minister of Justice, 47% considered it a "wrong appointment" and 24% a "good appointment."

(Video reporting: Lee Seung-hwan, Shin Dong-hwan, Kim Yong-woo | Video editing: Kim Jong-mi | Design: Kang Yoon-jung, Yang Ki-tae)

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