[Anchor]

The upcoming confirmation hearing for Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won next week will ultimately be held without a single witness. As the Democratic Party refused to adopt any witnesses, the nominee will face scrutiny without the businesswoman and the founder of a startup pharmaceutical company implicated in the alleged lobbying incident involving the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. Democratic Party lawmaker Seo Young-kyo even put forward the absurd argument that the ministerial nominee himself serves as the witness.

For more details, reporter Ha Jeongyeon has the story.

[Reporter]

Rival party lawmakers clashed throughout yesterday (September 9) over the issue of adopting witnesses for the National Assembly confirmation hearing of Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won.

With no agreement reached by the midnight deadline for witness adoption, it ultimately resulted in a hearing without witnesses.

The Democratic Party completely rejected the 44 witnesses requested by the People Power Party regarding allegations such as lobbying the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, arguing that the case had already concluded with a disposition of suspension of indictment.

[Yoon Sang-hyun / People Power Party Lawmaker (Yesterday): Why can't they testify in the National Assembly? To proceed while excluding these individuals? That simply turns the hearing into an explanation session rather than verification.]

[Kim Dong-ah / Democratic Party Lawmaker (Yesterday): I believe it is inappropriate to drag that already concluded and settled case back out into this sacred National Assembly to discuss it.]

In response to criticisms that it would be a toothless hearing, National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee Chairperson Seo Young-kyo, a member of the Democratic Party, openly defended the move, stating, "Going without witnesses is a typical confirmation hearing."

[Seo Young-kyo / Chairperson of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee (Democratic Party Lawmaker, Yesterday): The ministerial nominee becomes the witness. Countless people can just ask questions there. What are we doing, letting the boat go up a mountain?]

However, back in 2022 during the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, Chairperson Seo—who was then the Chairperson of the Public Administration and Security Committee—had stated ahead of the confirmation hearing for Interior and Safety Minister nominee Lee Sang-min that "witness questioning is an essential procedure."

[Seo Young-kyo / Chairperson of the Public Administration and Security Committee (Democratic Party Lawmaker, April 2022): Questioning witnesses at a National Assembly confirmation hearing is an essential procedure for objectively verifying a public office nominee's capability to perform duties and their morality.]

Looking at precedents for Justice Minister confirmation hearings, 11 and 4 witnesses were adopted during the past confirmation hearings for Justice Minister nominees Cho Kuk and Han Dong-hoon, respectively.

Meanwhile, out of the 25 confirmation hearings for prime minister and ministerial nominees held under the Lee Jae-myung administration, 18 have been held without a single witness.

Criticism is mounting that pushing ahead with witness-free, toothless hearings under the pretext of rival party confrontations undermines the significance of the confirmation hearing system, which is meant to verify public officials in front of the public.

(Photo courtesy of Kim Yong-woo | Video by Jang Hyunki | Graphics by Lee Gajin)