[Anchor]
There was a stir even within the Democratic Party over the nomination of Lee Yong-chul as Justice Minister. The People Power Party criticized the move, asking whether it is "back to the Gyeonggi Seongnam line after all" and calling it an appointment aimed at dropping criminal indictments against President Lee Jae-myung.
Next is reporter Kim Kwan-jin.
[Reporter]
Justice Minister nominee Lee Yong-chul is the person who disclosed in 2007 that he had returned 5 million won in cash sent by Samsung while serving as presidential secretary for legal affairs in the Roh Moo-hyun administration's Blue House.
[Lee Yong-chul / Justice Minister Nominee (in 2007): "I also felt a sense of humiliation, wondering if my integrity was worth only 5 million won."]
Although he was the central figure in an incident that caused waves at the time, the overwhelming reaction from within the Democratic Party is that he is an unfamiliar face as a justice minister nominee.
Immediately following the Blue House personnel announcement, Democratic Party lawmakers on the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee were asked for their thoughts on Lee's selection. Responses included, "I don't know nominee Lee well," and "I was surprised that the head of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration was nominated."
Some lawmakers said they had expected either Park Gyun-taek or Yang Bu-nam—both Democratic Party lawmakers rumored for the post until just before the announcement—to be chosen.
A key ruling party official told SBS that the Blue House appeared to feel burdened by appointing a sitting lawmaker with a prosecution background, emphasizing that nominee Lee shares a relationship of built-up trust with President Lee.
The People Power Party demanded the withdrawal of the nomination, intensively raising allegations that Lee was involved in hiring Yoo Dong-gyu, former acting president of the Seongnam Development Corporation and a key figure in the Daejang-dong development project.
[Park Chung-kwon / Senior Spokesperson, People Power Party: "As if dropping the indictments were not enough, they are now trying to install the hidden architect of Daejang-dong as justice minister."]
The PPP also raised the possibility of involvement by Kim Hyun-ji, chief of the First Personal Secretariat, questioning whether the "Gyeonggi Seongnam line" is the only group they can entrust with dropping the charges.
Nominee Lee expressed his stance, stating that he feels a heavy sense of responsibility being nominated during a grave period, and that he will complete prosecution reform without disruption while working to settle the new criminal justice system.
(Video by Oh Young-choon, Lee Seung-hwan, Kim Yong-woo | Video Editing by Yu Mi-ra | Design by Choi Jin-hoe)
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