[Anchor]

Although Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik has tendered his resignation, the People Power Party is keeping up its offensive, claiming that the real figures pulling strings on personnel appointments are elsewhere. The party demanded a thorough investigation, alleging that the so-called "Gyeonggi-Seongnam faction," including Kim Hyun-ji, Chief of the First Attached Office at the Blue House, has been meddling in personnel decisions.

Kim Bo-mi reports.

[Reporter]

The People Power Party stated that "the resignation of Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik, who chairs the Blue House personnel committee, is only natural," while also demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Han Seong-sook, who recommended the ministerial nominees who were subsequently forced to withdraw.

The party further asserted that the alleged interference in personnel appointments by President Lee Jae-myung's closest confidants—including Kim Hyun-ji, Chief of the First Attached Office at the Blue House, and Jeong Jin-sang, former head of political coordination for the Democratic Party—must be investigated.

[Chung Jeom-sik / Floor Leader, People Power Party: We must have Chief Kim Hyun-ji and former Chief Jeong Jin-sang testify as witnesses in the parliamentary audit to scrutinize the allegations of meddling in personnel appointments.]

Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok claimed that "the people who must truly take responsibility are the 'Gyeonggi-Seongnam line' who hold sway over the Blue House," sarcastically asking, "Is 'Older Sister Hyun-ji' really more powerful than 'Older Brother Hoon-sik' after all?"

Also demanding the withdrawal of the nomination of Defense Minister nominee Kang Shin-chul, who faces controversy over his son's commercial real estate ownership, the People Power Party decided to hold a "report-to-the-nation rally" today (September 22) to "criticize the government's misgovernance." The party is also considering whether to launch an out-of-parliament protest campaign after the Chuseok holiday.

Concerns over the "Blue House personnel system" were also raised within the Democratic Party.

[Kim Young-jin / Democratic Party Lawmaker (CBS Park Seong-tae's News Show): This is a time when we need to properly inspect the personnel appointment system inside the Blue House and prepare well so that the same mistakes are not repeated.]

Six-term lawmaker Park Ji-won said that as President Lee acknowledged shortcomings during his press conference, Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok should also make a sincere public apology as the leader of the ruling party.

Yesterday, the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee adopted a confirmation hearing report for Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister nominee Hong Ji-seon, listing the Democratic Party's opinion of suitability alongside the People Power Party's opinion of unsuitability.

On the other hand, discussions on adopting a confirmation hearing report for SMEs and Startups Minister nominee Lee So-young remain on hold.

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