Just Two of Them at Meeting, Husband Appointed Secretary-General: PPP Critics Call Basic Income Party a 'Family Income Party'

Yong Hye-in, nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family, reportedly appointed her husband, Park Ki-hong, as the secretary-general of the Basic Income Party during a party meeting held three days after the party's founding.

Records indicate that only the nominee and her husband attended the meeting in question.

According to the office of People Power Party lawmaker Cho Ji-yeon, Yong founded the Basic Income Party on January 19, 2020, and appointed her husband Park as the party's secretary-general in her capacity as standing representative during the 1st Standing Committee meeting held three days later.

According to the meeting results notice published on the Basic Income Party's website, the only attendee at the time was Yong, and the only observer was her husband Park.

The Basic Income Party records lists of attendees and observers in its meeting result notices, making an instance involving only two people unusual.

In response, the Basic Income Party explained that immediately after its founding, Yong was the only person with standing committee member qualifications. It stated that this was an "inevitable approach for an extra-parliamentary minor party," that there were no violations of the party constitution, regulations, or procedures, and that "Park's observation on the day of his appointment as secretary-general was customary, just like in other parties."

Ratification of her husband Park's appointment took place at a second meeting on February 1 of that year, attended by the couple along with seven regional committee chairpersons and an observer.

Subsequently, when Yong stepped down as standing representative in March 2020 to run as a proportional representation candidate for the proportional satellite party "minority-inclusive platform," her husband Park even served as acting standing representative.

Park has held various key party positions, including head of the Basic Income Party's strategic planning office and planning and coordination office, and currently serves as the deputy secretary-general for strategic planning.

Regarding the appointment of her husband Park to party positions, the personnel hearing preparation team for the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family stated, "It was appointed through internal recommendations and deliberation processes immediately after founding as an extra-parliamentary minor party."

However, opposition parties including the People Power Party are pushing back, criticizing that it is not the "Basic Income Party" but a "Family Income Party."

Regarding the controversy over her husband's appointment to key party posts in the Basic Income Party, the People Power Party demanded the withdrawal of Yong's nomination, claiming that "the operation of a public political party has been tainted by private interests."

(Reported by Lee Ho-geon | Video by Ahn Jun-hyeok | Design by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.