[Anchor]

Let's now turn to the National Assembly, where the confirmation hearing for Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won is taking place.

Reporter Park Jae-yeon, is the hearing still underway?

[Reporter]

The confirmation hearing for Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won, which began at 10 a.m., resumed a short while ago at around 8:50 p.m.

The People Power Party pressed Kim over allegations of illicit solicitation involving the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, demanding to know when and where he took a photo with a broker surnamed Yang. The party also grilled him over stock manipulation allegations based on a 2023 Financial Supervisory Service report stating that claims of Genencell receiving approval for clinical trial plans in India were false and exaggerated.

The Democratic Party pushed back, asserting that Kim, once appointed minister, should consider pursuing procedures to dissolve the People Power Party to eradicate insurrection.

The Democratic Party also continues to claim that independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon leaked prosecution investigation records and maliciously pieced them together.

[Anchor]

Meanwhile, looking at the hearing today (September 15), shouting and abusive remarks were traded right from the start. Was proper vetting, the true essence of a confirmation hearing, actually carried out?

[Reporter]

At today's hearing, even before questioning could begin, rival party lawmakers traded informal speech and shouting during points of order, drawing public frowns.

[Park Gyun-taek / Democratic Party Lawmaker: "You don't look normal."]

[Kim Tae-gyu / People Power Party Lawmaker: "You're not normal either."]

[Joo Jin-woo / People Power Party Lawmaker: "What did you just say?"]

[Kim Dong-ah / Democratic Party Lawmaker: "I said a devil."]

Once the hearing concludes, the rival parties will begin consultations on adopting a confirmation hearing report.

However, as the intense standoff continues, reaching an agreement on adopting the report is expected to be difficult.

Meanwhile, the civic group People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy commented on today's witness-free hearing, criticizing that it sidelined scrutiny and merely offered a platform for explanations, and evaluated that nominee Kim is unfit for office as he failed to sufficiently prove his qualifications as minister amid various allegations.

(On-site Production: Seo Jin-ho, Video Editing: Jeon Min-gyu)