The confirmation hearing for Kim Seung-won, nominee for minister of justice, was held at the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee on September 15.
As Kim Tae-gyu, a People Power Party lawmaker, was questioning him, he suddenly raised his voice and said, “Stop it!”
What was Kim Seung-won trying to say that made Rep. Kim interrupt him?
3-line summary
1. Rep. Kim Tae-gyu shouted at nominee Kim Seung-won
2. It began with a single photograph taken with former President Yoon Suk Yeol
3. By the same logic, this photograph should also be explained
A Dispute That Began with a Single Photograph
Throughout the hearing, Rep. Kim Tae-gyu focused intensely on the relationship between nominee Kim Seung-won and Mr. Yang, who was identified as a broker. Based on a photograph of the two together and their long-standing acquaintance, he raised suspicions that a civil complaint related to Mr. Yang’s new-drug clinical trial had been resolved through nominee Kim. However, nominee Kim changed direction and went on the offensive. When he tried to continue by saying, “It seems Mr. Yang also took a photograph with President Yoon Suk Yeol,” Rep. Kim Tae-gyu immediately shouted, “Stop it!” and blocked him from speaking.
According to a photograph made public on the 14th, the day before the hearing, by Weekly Kyunghyang, citing a report by the YouTube channel Maebong Show, Mr. Yang stood directly beside then-President Yoon Suk Yeol and took a group photograph at the Small and Medium Business Owners’ Convention held at the Yongsan Presidential Office on May 24, 2023. In an interview with the outlet, Mr. Yang denied the claim that he was connected only to figures from the Democratic Party of Korea, asserting that the approximately 5000 contacts saved on his mobile phone also included contacts of People Power Party figures.
Why Did Rep. Kim Tae-gyu Interrupt Him?
It was the People Power Party that had focused on raising suspicions based on photographs of nominee Kim Seung-won and Mr. Yang. However, as a photograph of Mr. Yang standing directly beside former President Yoon Suk Yeol became newly known, the People Power Party found itself in a situation where it, too, was subject to the same logic it had previously argued. The premise that a special relationship cannot be proven by a single photograph applies equally to both sides.
Kim Tae-gyu, Chief Spokesperson for the Floor Leadership, Also Takes Aim at the Ulsan Mayor
Rep. Kim Tae-gyu is the People Power Party’s chief spokesperson for the floor leadership and a National Assembly member representing Ulsan Nam-gu Gap. He served as vice chair of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration and, in 2024, served as vice chair of the Korea Communications Commission, performing the duties of acting chair after then-Chair Lee Jin-sook was suspended from her duties. At a briefing on September 14, two days before the hearing, he pointed out controversies over nominee Kim Seung-won’s omission of assets from his property declaration and tax arrears, and called on him to resign voluntarily. At the same event, he also urged Ulsan Mayor Kim Sang-wook, whom he claimed was being shielded by the Democratic Party of Korea, to cooperate faithfully with the police investigation into allegations of prostitution in the Philippines and allegations of delivering money and valuables. Both allegations are still under investigation and have not been established as confirmed facts.
There is also an opposing view. In a radio interview, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Park Ji-won assessed the hearing by saying, “If it was merely noisy and the People Power Party failed to uncover any decisive wrongdoing, then the People Power Party is at fault,” arguing that the opposition’s verification offensive had amounted to nothing. He defended the necessity of appointing the nominee by referring to the nominee’s family’s support activities for people with developmental disabilities.
Hearing Report Adopted Solely by the Ruling Party
On September 17, two days after the hearing, the confirmation hearing reports for nominee Kim Seung-won and nominee Kang Shin-cheol for minister of national defense were adopted by the standing committee while only lawmakers from the Democratic Party of Korea and other ruling-party-affiliated members were in attendance. The People Power Party protested by leaving before the vote on adoption or by not holding meetings of the relevant standing committees. Choi Bo-yoon, the People Power Party’s senior spokesperson, said that a minister could be appointed even without a confirmation hearing report, but that practical preparations had been made to launch an outside-the-Assembly struggle if the government forced through the appointment. This is only an announcement of an action that has not yet been carried out, not a finalized plan.
This dispute over a single photograph once again showed how the verification of allegations at confirmation hearings can easily develop into a political confrontation.
References
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