"Are You a Liberal Arts Major Too?": Hearing for Land Minister Nominee Turns into Clash over Real Estate

[Anchor]

We now turn to the confirmation hearing for Hong Ji-seon, the nominee for Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. When nominee Hong refrained from evaluating the Lee Jae-myung administration's real estate policies, an opposition lawmaker sarcastically asked, "Are you a liberal arts major too?" comparing him to Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won. Meanwhile, the ruling party pushed back against the opposition's scrutiny over Hong's "debt-fueled purchase" of a Seoul apartment, calling it a "dirty frame."

Reporter Park Jae-yeon reports.

[Reporter]

Nominee for Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Hong Ji-seon faced a parliamentary confirmation hearing.

He cited "housing supply shortages" as the most urgent issue to address.

When asked what score he would give the Lee Jae-myung administration's real estate policies, he avoided giving a direct answer, prompting sarcasm from an opposition lawmaker.

[Hong Ji-seon / Nominee for Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport: I believe it would be inappropriate to answer that way.]

[Kim Eun-hye / People Power Party Lawmaker: Are you a liberal arts major, nominee? You are not, are you? Yesterday, nominee Kim Seung-won said he could not answer because he was a liberal arts major.]

The People Power Party pointed out that while serving as head of the Urban Housing Office of Gyeonggi Provincial Government, Hong applied for Seoul apartment subscription lotteries seven times, and that he bought an apartment in Guro District, Seoul, last year by borrowing from his in-laws in a "debt-fueled purchase." They questioned whether he expects the public to live in public rental housing while purchasing a Seoul apartment for himself.

[Jeong Hee-yong / People Power Party Lawmaker: After emphasizing the public nature of housing in front of the public, he treated housing as a means of wealth accumulation, which is nothing short of two-faced hypocrisy.]

Hong explained that he was not seeking capital gains, and a Democratic Party lawmaker defended him by noting that he bought the home after moving between five different rental properties under the jeonse system, before launching a counterattack against the People Power Party.

[Moon Jeong-bok / Democratic Party Lawmaker: Both husband and wife are high-ranking public officials. Yet it took them nearly 20 years to buy a home, and even that was with a loan. Why are you slapping such a dirty frame on the nominee?]

When asked whether to maintain the Land Transaction Permit System, Hong answered that lifting it raises concerns over negative side effects, and said the plan to provide housing on the Yongsan Park site requires consultation with the Seoul Metropolitan Government and legislation by the National Assembly.

The Democratic Party praised Hong Ji-seon as the right person for housing, urban, and transportation policies, while the People Power Party criticized him as a nominee embodying severe double standards and demanded the withdrawal of his nomination.

(Camera: Lee Seung-hwan | Video Editing: Wi Won-yang)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.