[Anchor]

The parliamentary confirmation hearing report for Defense Minister nominee Kang Shin-chul has also been adopted solely by the ruling party. At the confirmation hearing, which lasted late into Wednesday night (September 16), Kang offered explanations regarding real estate suspicions surrounding him that were difficult to accept.

Park Chan-beom reports.

[Reporter]

The confirmation hearing for Defense Minister nominee Kang Shin-chul ended around 11:10 p.m. last night.

Kang, who faces suspicions that he falsely registered his residence in 2008 to receive a "special housing supply for displaced residents" for a home he owned in Cheonwang-dong, Guro-gu, Seoul, strongly pushed back toward the end of the hearing.

[Kang Shin-chul / Defense Minister Nominee (Yesterday): "In terms of market prices, it was such an unspeakable loss."]

His argument was that the compensation was only one-sixth of the market price in Cheonwang-dong, but after his Cheonwang-dong house was expropriated, he acquired an apartment in Umyeon-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, through the special supply for displaced residents.

[Chun Ha-ram / Reform Party Lawmaker (Yesterday): "Didn't the home you were allocated as a displaced resident for 520 million won increase in value to 2.2 billion won?"]

Kang protested, calling it a "speculator frame."

[Kang Shin-chul / Defense Minister Nominee (Yesterday): "You've placed a frame on us and made us all out to be real estate speculators, haven't you?"]

When answering why he was unaware that his son had borrowed over 700 million won from his aunt and uncle to purchase a commercial property last June, Kang cited "war" as the reason.

[Seong Il-jong / People Power Party Lawmaker (Yesterday): "They lent 700 million won, and neither the aunt nor your children mentioned it to you at all?"]

[Kang Shin-chul / Defense Minister Nominee (Yesterday): "Because I was in a situation amidst war..."]

In other words, he claimed he did not know because he was serving as ambassador to Saudi Arabia, a country neighboring Iran, amid the U.S.-Iran war.

Both his claim of not knowing that his wife's sister and her husband lent 700 million won to his son and his explanation that omitting his son's commercial property from the hearing materials was his own "carelessness while on the way back home" have come under scrutiny.

[Lim Jong-deuk / People Power Party Lawmaker (Yesterday): "If your son is vetted, that 700-million-won commercial property purchase will inevitably come to light. Aren't you getting calls (from Cheong Wa Dae)?"]

The exchange between ruling and opposition lawmakers grew sharp.

[Park Sun-won / Democratic Party Lawmaker (Yesterday): "It seems (Reform Party Lawmaker Chun Ha-ram) doesn't know because he lacks real-world experience, so just say, 'It seems like a case I don't know much about.'"]

[Chun Ha-ram / Reform Party Lawmaker: "I have had plenty of real-world experience. I deserve an apology."]

Today, just a day after the hearing ended, the National Assembly's National Defense Committee, chaired by a ruling party lawmaker, adopted the confirmation hearing report solely with ruling party support.

While the ruling party described him as the "right person for defense reform," the opposition walked out and boycotted the vote, slamming him with "a failing grade for lacking conviction and competence."

Video by Lee Seung-hwan and Shin Dong-hwan | Video Editing by Won Hyeong-hee