[Anchor]

Basic Income Party lawmaker Yong Hye-in, who has been nominated as the Minister of Gender Equality and Family, has addressed the controversies surrounding her. While she avoided giving a direct answer on whether she would resign from her proportional representation seat, calls for her to step down are growing even within the ruling party.

Reporter Jo Yoon-ha has the details.

[Reporter]

Arriving at her confirmation hearing preparation office for the first time three days after being nominated as a cabinet minister, nominee Yong Hye-in shared her aspirations as the nominee for the Minister of Gender Equality and Family.

[Yong Hye-in / Nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family: True to my original resolve to remain unshaken and sincere, I will strive to make the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family of the sovereign peoples government the ministry closest to the people.]

Regarding criticisms from women's groups over her support for abolishing the prosecution's supplementary investigation rights, she stated, "I will listen closely to voices from the field to ensure victims' rights and interests are not infringed upon," while also explaining her positions on pending issues such as revising the constituent requirements for the crime of rape and the swift introduction of abortion pills.

However, she avoided giving a direct answer on the most controversial issue: whether she will resign from her proportional representation lawmaker seat.

[Yong Hye-in / Nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family: Since the confirmation hearing process is a way to communicate with our citizens, I will prepare well for the hearing so that I can organize my thoughts and convey them effectively.]

Previously, Yong hinted through social media that she would maintain her proportional representation lawmaker seat even if she becomes a minister, stating, "I ask for your understanding regarding the difficulties faced by minor parties."

Since the year 2000, it has been customary for proportional representation lawmakers to resign when nominated as cabinet ministers.

This is because if a district lawmaker resigns, the representative chosen by local voters disappears and a costly by-election must be held, whereas a proportional representation seat can be immediately succeeded by the next candidate on the list, eliminating by-elections and gaps in legislative activities.

Criticism has erupted even within the Democratic Party that Yong, who has become a lawmaker twice solely through satellite parties, should not attempt to hold the ministerial position concurrently.

[Song Young-gil / Democratic Party Lawmaker (SBS Radio 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show'): There are questions about what kind of appeal appointing this person as the Minister of Gender Equality and Family would have to those in their 20s and 30s. It's a sudden meteoric rise receiving double and triple preferential treatment.]

Meanwhile, the People Power Party launched an offensive, calling it "greedy politics that lays bare her avarice."

[Park Choong-kwon / Senior Spokesperson of the People Power Party: Using the difficulties of a minor party as an excuse, she is brazenly granting herself preferential exceptions.]

A civic group filed a complaint with the police against nominee Yong on charges of abuse of power, regarding her use of the VIP lounge at Gimpo International Airport with her family before taking a trip to Jeju Island in 2023.

(Video by: Lee Seung-hwan | Video Editing by: Jeon Min-gyu)