Ruling and opposition lawmakers reacted sharply differently Tuesday after Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won broke down in tears during his National Assembly confirmation hearing while addressing allegations of preferential treatment involving a cooperative where his wife and son work.
Opposition lawmakers raised concerns about Kim's son working at the Korea Child Development Social Cooperative, which his wife runs, calling it a "family cooperative." Kim rebuffed the criticism, saying all decisions on operations, his wife's salary and working conditions are made by the parents of the children served. "There is no benefit that comes back to my wife," he said.
On his son, Kim added: "I find it both heartbreaking and admirable that he has taken after his mother's spirit and chosen to care for children with developmental disabilities. This was absolutely not done for financial gain."
Kim choked up twice during the exchange, pausing as he struggled to continue. When he finished speaking, ruling party lawmakers responded with a round of applause.
People Power Party lawmakers Kim Min-jeon and Kim Tae-gyu, however, were unmoved. Kim Min-jeon wrote on Facebook: "Crocodile tears."
Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon reposted on his Facebook page an audio recording in which Kim Seung-won allegedly told broker Yang — a figure linked to a separate new-drug lobbying scandal — "I miss you so much my eyes are tearing up," then asked: "Which tears are real?"
The two sides also clashed over the hearing proceeding without any witnesses or reference persons. Park Hyung-su, who leads the opposition party's side on the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, criticized the proceedings, saying the Democratic Party had planned a hearing with no witnesses while the nominee had failed to submit required documents. "We said about 10 witnesses were needed, including Yang — the alleged broker in the new-drug lobbying case — but not a single one was approved," Park said.
Kim Eui-kyum, who leads the ruling party's side on the committee, rebuffed the criticism. "Prosecutors deployed 11 investigators over more than two years and turned everything inside out," he said, referring to the new-drug lobbying allegations. "The nominee already went through a prosecutorial grilling 100 to 1,000 times harsher than any parliamentary hearing — using witness calls to turn this into a political fight is far too wasteful."
bigroot@heraldcorp.com
