In South Korea, lawmaker Yong Hye-in withdraws candidacy for ministerial post
In South Korea, lawmaker Yong Hye-in withdrew her candidacy for the post of minister of gender equality and family on September 13. She announced this at an emergency press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul, two weeks after being nominated by President Lee Jae-myung, Korea Herald reports.
Yong Hye-in is the sole lawmaker from the small Basic Income Party. Her decision was announced ahead of a week packed with confirmation hearings. At the same time, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and the main opposition People Power Party had not agreed on a hearing date for her nomination.
Reasons for withdrawing the candidacy
The lawmaker thanked the president for his trust and apologized for being unable to fulfill the responsibility entrusted to her. According to her, one of the key factors was a request from the Democratic Party to determine her future status as a candidate.
Yong Hye-in said that concerns within the ruling party would have made it difficult for her to work as a cabinet member responsible for ensuring cooperation between parliament and the government. She also said she had decided to stop in order to preserve solidarity between the Democratic Party, the Basic Income Party, and the broader liberal-progressive camp.
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Criticism of the candidate
The controversy over the appointment intensified after Yong Hye-in said on September 10 that she intended to retain her parliamentary seat, won through the proportional representation system, if appointed minister. She also rejected allegations concerning her party's operations, including questions about the role of her husband, Park Ki-heon, who was elected to the party's supreme council and received a salary as a party official. According to the lawmaker, there were no procedural or substantive violations in this situation.
Representatives of the Democratic Party intensified their criticism after her press conference. Spokesperson Park Sung-jun said that the party leadership had urgently gathered assessments within and outside the party, while spokesperson Cho Gye-won spoke of significant dissatisfaction among the younger generation.
According to a Gallup Korea poll released on September 11, 61% of respondents considered Yong Hye-in unfit for the ministerial post, while 13% considered her fit. Among Democratic Party supporters, 51% of respondents assessed her suitability for the post negatively, while 26% assessed it positively.
