Han Byeong-do, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, criticized the People Power Party on October 17 for making extreme remarks immediately after the announcement of the Blue House cabinet reshuffle. He also indicated plans to complete the confirmation hearing process before the Chuseok holiday.
During a Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly, Han stated, "Even before the confirmation hearing schedule was set, they have already begun to label and smear candidates." He specifically pointed out the false claims being spread about Kim Seung-won, the nominee for Minister of Justice, stating, "They are spreading lies that he is a lawyer from the Daejang-dong case. There is no fiction like this."
He emphasized, "Verification should be conducted during the confirmation hearing based on facts and evidence. Casting doubt before the verification process begins is akin to declaring an intention to turn the confirmation hearing into a political battle."
Additionally, Han assured that the Democratic Party would thoroughly verify the abilities and qualifications of public office candidates from the perspective of the public and respond firmly to the opposition's political maneuvers. He particularly noted, "To prevent any gaps in national governance, the Democratic Party will swiftly conclude the confirmation hearing process for cabinet members before the Chuseok holiday."
Meanwhile, the Blue House had announced the nominations the previous day for several key positions, including the Minister of Economy and Finance (Lee Hyeong-il, First Vice Minister of Finance), Minister of Justice (Kim Seung-won, Democratic Party lawmaker), Minister of National Defense (Kang Shin-cheol, former Deputy Commander of the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces), Minister of SMEs and Startups (Lee So-young, Democratic Party lawmaker), Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (Hong Ji-seon, Second Vice Minister of Land), and Minister of Gender Equality and Family (Yong Hye-in, floor leader of the Basic Income Party).
* This article has been translated by AI.
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