Nominee breaks down twice while addressing family allegations
Kim Tae-gyu asks if nominee is going through menopause
Ruling, opposition parties react in starkly contrasting ways
The ruling and opposition parties reacted in starkly contrasting ways after Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won broke down in tears during his National Assembly confirmation hearing while addressing allegations involving his family. Lawmakers from the Democratic Party of Korea offered applause and encouragement, while People Power Party members responded with sharp criticism.
Kim broke down twice on Tuesday, struggling to continue speaking, after critics raised the "family cooperative" issue — pointing to the fact that his son works at a social cooperative for child development run by his wife.
He said his wife's salary and working conditions were determined entirely by the parents of the children in the program, and described his son's decision to follow his mother's path and care for children with developmental disabilities as both heartbreaking and admirable. After finishing his remarks, Kim wiped his eyes with a handkerchief.
Democratic Party lawmakers responded with supportive applause. Seo Young-gyo, chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and a fellow Democratic Party member, was seen wiping tears from her eyes as she listened to Kim speak.
Democratic Party lawmaker Park Ji-won shared a video of Kim crying on Facebook, writing that he could not do what Kim had done, then turned the moment against People Power Party lawmaker Ju Jin-woo — who had raised the family allegations — asking whether Ju could do the same.
The People Power Party, however, questioned the sincerity of Kim's tears. Lawmakers Kim Min-jeon and Kim Tae-gyu were seen smirking as the nominee became emotional.
Kim Min-jeon wrote "crocodile tears" on Facebook, and later during the afternoon session said that since a transcript showed Kim had once told a broker surnamed Yang that he was moved to tears, watching the nominee tear up during his opening remarks made her think he was "consistently a crier."
Kim Tae-gyu asked the nominee directly whether he was going through menopause after "a sea of tears" in the morning session, adding that if a person of the nominee's stature wept over something like this, ordinary citizens living harder lives would have to wail every single day.
Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon reposted on Facebook an audio recording in which Kim had allegedly told broker Yang, "I miss you so much my eyes are tearing up" — a clip tied to allegations that Kim had sought to influence approval of a new drug clinical trial — and asked which set of tears was real.
Kim said he cried partly because the moment brought back memories of his childhood, and offered an apology to anyone who found his display uncomfortable.
th5@heraldcorp.com
