The ruling and opposition parties clashed today (September 16) at a confirmation hearing held by the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee over the insufficient submission of documents by Hong Ji-seon, the nominee for Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, his real estate holdings, and assessments of the Lee Jae-myung administration's real estate policies.

Representative Jeong Hee-yong of the People Power Party pointed out, "The nominee failed to submit not only documents regarding his children's educational background, but also his own medical records related to his Grade 4 supplementary service classification." He added, "While a loan agreement between his spouse and his mother-in-law exists, he has not even provided bank transfer records to prove it."

He continued to criticize, "With only a loan agreement and no transfer records, how can the public trust this?"

Representative Kim Eun-hye of the same party pressed, "Do you think the current administration's real estate policies are going well?" She asked, "Are you a humanities major, nominee? Yesterday, nominee Kim Seung-won claimed he couldn't answer because he was a humanities major, but this issue is not something to be divided by humanities and natural sciences."

Representative Kim Mi-ae also criticized, "The public is demanding a change in the stance of the current administration's real estate policy," adding, "Everything is being driven solely through regulations, and failing to properly answer about this in itself reflects a lack of preparation for the confirmation hearing."

She further added, "The main reason the president's approval rating has dropped to the 30% range is the failure of real estate policies."

On the other hand, Representative Boo Seung-chan of the Democratic Party of Korea pushed back against the opposition, which had demanded document submissions citing unclear reasons for Hong's Grade 4 supplementary service classification.

Representative Boo defended the nominee, stating, "According to statistical data, out of the 400,000 people subject to the draft physical examination at the time, only 120,000 were subject to active-duty enlistment, while nearly 300,000 were classified into supplementary service or other categories." He argued, "It is inappropriate to take issue with a military service classification from the 1990s based on today's Military Service Act."

Representative Moon Jeong-bok of the same party also took issue with the opposition's offensive regarding Hong's purchase of an apartment in Guro-gu, Seoul, saying, "It makes no sense to denounce an apartment purchased for actual residence as an immoral act by bringing up capital gains."

Representative Moon retorted, "With seven GTX lines—A, B, C, D, E, and F—connecting all of Seoul like a spiderweb, does that mean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport officials should avoid these lines when buying a home? Why are you trying to impose such a dirty frame?"

Meanwhile, regarding the controversy over document submission, nominee Hong explained, "I did not refuse to submit them; I requested the records from the Military Manpower Administration, but the submission was delayed because related documents, including diagnosis records from that time, were lost and in the process of being reissued."

(Photo: Yonhap News)