"Stage for Political Strife" vs. "Shielding Kim Seung-won": Ruling and Opposition Clashes Continue

[Anchor]

Clashes between the ruling and opposition parties continued today following yesterday's (September 15) confirmation hearing for Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won. The Democratic Party criticized the opposition for turning the hearing into a political battleground, while the People Power Party demanded the withdrawal of Kim's nomination.

Kim Kwan-jin reports.

[Reporter]

The People Power Party questioned nominee Kim Seung-won's true intentions, pointing out that he had previously said the Justice Minister should direct the dismissal of charges in cases related to President Lee Jae-myung, but changed his words after his nomination to say that the minister has no direct authority.

[Yoon Sang-hyun / People Power Party Lawmaker: Weren't you a co-representative of the group seeking the dismissal of charges? What is your position now?]

[Kim Seung-won / Justice Minister Nominee: The Justice Minister does not have the authority to dismiss indictments, nor do I have any intention of exercising general supervisory authority through the Prosecutor General.]

Nominee Kim also stated that even if the special counsel bill on allegations of fabricated indictments is passed, he opposes granting the special counsel the power to dismiss charges.

Allegations were raised, accompanied by an audio recording of his wife, that a 'family salary feast' was taking place at a cooperative where nominee Kim's wife and children work, and that the cooperative was colluding with the local government in its jurisdiction, but Kim refuted them as completely groundless.

[Joo Jin-woo / People Power Party Lawmaker: Nominee Kim Seung-won's family assets also continue to grow. Just look at the rate of increase. Are you Samsung Electronics?]

[Kim Seung-won / Justice Minister Nominee: Lawmaker Joo Jin-woo, try having your son work at a development center. See if he can endure a week or two weeks.]

Nominee Kim became choked with emotion while talking about his son, explaining that the cooperative was established by parents of children with developmental disabilities.

[Kim Seung-won / Justice Minister Nominee: My wife also told me that when she loses her strength or passes away, (she thought of our son) as someone she could trust to look after these children (individuals with developmental disabilities).]

The opposition reacted by calling it "crocodile tears," while the ruling party launched a counterattack against the opposition lawmakers who raised the allegations.

Assessments of the confirmation hearing diverged sharply between the ruling and opposition parties.

The ruling party criticized the opposition for turning the hearing into a political battleground,

[Han Byung-do / Democratic Party Floor Leader: It has turned into a stage for political strife filled with shouting and finger-pointing. It is deeply regrettable....]

The opposition claimed that the hearing was merely the ruling party's effort to "protect nominee Kim" from the beginning, demanding that the nomination be withdrawn.

[Jeong Jeom-sig / People Power Party Floor Leader: If the appointment is pushed through, they will face the judgment of public sentiment, which is far more terrifying than any trial.]

(Video by Jeon Mingyu)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.