▲ Lee So-young, nominee for Minister of SMEs and Startups, answers questions from lawmakers during a confirmation hearing held by the National Assembly's Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs, and Startups Committee on the 15th.
Rival parties clashed during the National Assembly Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs, and Startups Committee confirmation hearing for Minister of SMEs and Startups nominee Lee So-young, debating the appropriateness of her "non-resident single home" status and her expertise in the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) and small business sectors.
People Power Party (PPP) lawmaker Choi Soo-jin criticized the nominee regarding her apartment in Hongje-dong, Seoul, stating, "You have not actually resided in it for seven years since purchasing it in 2016, racking up around 500 million won in paper gains during that time. Didn't President Lee Jae-myung brand non-resident single homeowners as 'devils'?" pointing out that Lee's non-resident single home status contradicts the president's real estate policy stance.
Refuting the criticism that a non-resident home contradicts the government's real estate policy direction, nominee Lee countered, "Government policy differentiates tax benefits for non-resident single homeowners, but it does not directly regulate them."
Lawmaker Song Jae-bong of the Democratic Party of Korea (DP) defended the nominee, stating, "Following the nomination of nominee Lee, the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise issued a welcoming statement."
Song emphasized that Lee is the right person to head the Ministry of SMEs and Startups to oversee small business policies, noting, "The federation highly praised nominee Lee for emphasizing the prompt provision of recovery funds for small business owners affected by COVID-19 and urging realistic support for closed small businesses."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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