Ministerial nominee hearings to begin

[Anchor]

Confirmation hearings for the ministerial candidates of the Lee Jae Myung administration will begin tomorrow (July 14).

This week alone, 16 candidates will be put to the test.

The hearings for Kang Sun-woo, who is embroiled in the 'abuse of power controversy', and Lee Jin-sook, who faces allegations of plagiarism in her thesis, are expected to be the main battlegrounds.

The People Power Party is preparing for intense scrutiny, while the Democratic Party is launching a full-scale defense.

Reporter Choi Yoo-kyung reports on the atmosphere surrounding the upcoming confirmation hearings.

[Report]

Confirmation hearings for the ministerial candidates of the Lee Jae Myung government are set to begin tomorrow.

Starting with Kang Sun-woo, the nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family, four candidates will be scrutinized in succession, with two to four candidates being examined each day.

The People Power Party has stated that more than half of the candidates are likely to be disqualified, vowing a 'rigorous examination'.

In particular, they have called for the voluntary resignation of Kang Sun-woo, who is implicated in a staff abuse controversy, Lee Jin-sook, who faces plagiarism allegations, and Jeong Eun-kyeong, who is under suspicion of investing in COVID-19 beneficiaries.

[Song Eon-seog/Chairman of the Emergency Response Committee and Floor Leader of the People Power Party: "The allegations raised against these candidates are matters difficult for ordinary people to comprehend."]

They also criticized the ruling party and the ministerial candidates for being uncooperative during the confirmation hearings.

[Kwak Gyu-taek/Senior Spokesperson of the People Power Party: "They did not provide materials, avoided witness testimonies, and remained silent to questions. An 'operation to neutralize the hearings' is underway."]

The Democratic Party has responded that they will ensure that not a single candidate is disqualified.

They have dismissed the People Power Party's offensive as 'obstruction of government operations'.

[Moon Geum-joo/Spokesperson of the Democratic Party: "It is nothing more than malicious personal attacks based on unverified claims, and is a clear smear campaign."]

However, there have been voices suggesting that candidates who do not meet the public's expectations should not be confirmed unconditionally.

[Jin Sung-jun/Chairman of the Policy Committee of the Democratic Party: "If they cannot provide a satisfactory explanation, we may have to seriously reconsider the situation..."]

In response, Democratic Party officials stated that compared to the appointments of the previous administration, there do not seem to be significant issues, and emphasized that internal discussions are being held based on principles.

KBS News, Choi Yoo-kyung.