[Anchor]

The People Power Party intensified its offensive against the ruling bloc, labeling the alleged involvement of Kim Hyun-ji, head of the private secretariat at Cheong Wa Dae, and others in ministerial appointments as "meddling in personnel affairs." Within parts of the Democratic Party of Korea, calls also emerged that party leader Kim Min-seok should apologize for the appointment controversies.

Reporter Kim Bo-mi has the details.

[Reporter]

The People Power Party said, "The resignation of Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik, who serves as the head of Cheong Wa Dae's Personnel Committee, is a matter of course," while also demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Han Seong-sook, who had recommended the ministerial nominees who stepped down.

At the same time, the party asserted that allegations of personnel meddling by President Lee Jae-myung's closest aides, including First Private Secretary Kim Hyun-ji and former Democratic Party political coordination chief Jeong Jin-sang, must be investigated.

[Jeong Jeom-sik / PPP Floor Leader: "We must call Secretaries Kim Hyun-ji and Jeong Jin-sang as witnesses to the parliamentary audit to verify suspicions of personnel meddling."]

PPP Leader Jang Dong-hyeok claimed, "The ones who truly need to take responsibility are the 'Gyeonggi-Seongnam line' that dominates Cheong Wa Dae," sarcastically adding, "Is 'older sister Hyun-ji' really more powerful than 'older brother Hoon-sik' after all?"

Demanding the withdrawal of the nomination of Defense Minister nominee Kang Shin-chul, who faces controversy over his son's commercial building, the PPP decided to hold a "public report rally" on September 22 to criticize government misgovernance, and is also considering taking to the streets for outdoor protests following the Chuseok holiday.

Voices of concern regarding the "Cheong Wa Dae personnel appointment system" were also heard within the Democratic Party.

[Kim Young-jin / Democratic Party Lawmaker (CBS Radio's 'Park Seong-tae's News Show'): "This is a time when we need to review Cheong Wa Dae's internal personnel vetting system and prepare thoroughly so that the same mistakes are not repeated."]

Six-term lawmaker Park Ji-won said that since President Lee admitted shortcomings during his press conference, Democratic Party Leader Kim Min-seok must also sincerely apologize to the public as the leader of the ruling party.

The National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee on September 21 adopted a confirmation hearing report for Land Minister nominee Hong Ji-seon, concurrently stating the Democratic Party's opinion that she is qualified and the PPP's opinion that she is unqualified.

Meanwhile, discussions on adopting a confirmation hearing report for Lee So-young, nominee for Minister of SMEs and Startups, remain on hold.

(Video by Lee Seung-hwan and Shin Dong-hwan | Video Editing by Park Seon-soo | Graphics by Han Heung-soo)