Yong Hye-in Promises to Address Issues at Hearing, Facing Scrutiny Over Past Criticism

[Anchor]

Yong Hye-in, nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family, served as a hearing committee member three years ago vetting a previous ministerial candidate. Critics point out that she is responding in the exact same manner as she once fiercely criticized, back when that candidate deferred explanations by saying she would answer at the hearing.

Reporter Park Chan-beom has the details.

[Reporter]

Yong Hye-in, the nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family, made her first commute to the personnel hearing preparation office on September 2.

While she took questions from reporters for about 10 minutes, she has completely stopped answering questions regarding whether she will resign from her lawmaker position starting the next day, repeatedly giving brief responses that she will clarify various allegations at the National Assembly's confirmation hearing.

[Yong Hye-in / Nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family (Day before yesterday): (Do you still maintain your stance on holding both lawmaker and ministerial positions?) ......]

Three years ago, when she was a freshman lawmaker, nominee Yong served as a member of the National Assembly's confirmation hearing committee for then-Ministry of Gender Equality and Family nominee Kim Haeng.

At that time, when nominee Kim suspended her doorstep Q&A sessions with reporters just five days in amid a barrage of suspicions, Yong criticized her as follows:

[Yong Hye-in / Then-Member of the Personnel Hearing Committee for the Minister of Gender Equality and Family Candidate (September 2023): Nominee Kim Haeng has even halted her doorstep Q&A sessions, stating that she will explain everything at the confirmation hearing. This can only be interpreted as running away because she is unable to provide an explanation.]

Nominee Yong has responded similarly regarding allegations that a so-called underground organization within the Labor Party, to which she previously belonged, had discriminatory guidelines such as bans on abortion or requirements for premarital chastity.

[Yong Hye-in / Nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family (Day before yesterday): (What was the reason for condoning the discriminatory guidelines of the underground organization?) I will address that at the hearing.]

However, when she was a confirmation hearing committee member in the past, she launched sharp criticisms using past remarks made by then-nominee Kim regarding women's right to sexual self-determination.

[Yong Hye-in / Then-Member of the Personnel Hearing Committee for the Minister of Gender Equality and Family Candidate (September 2023): (Nominee Kim Haeng) showed a poor understanding of women's right to sexual self-determination by stating that 'tolerance is needed to accept even an unwanted pregnancy.']

Rival parties are currently coordinating to hold nominee Yong's confirmation hearing on September 18.

[Yong Hye-in / Nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family (Day before yesterday): (If you refuse to answer, isn't this the same as the privileged behavior you criticized in the past?) ......]

(Video reporting: Lee Seung-hwan, Shin Dong-hwan | Video editing: Jang Hyun-gi)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.