Han Seong-suk, the Minister nominee of the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Startups Agency, stated regarding the illegal building on her mother's farmland, "I found out after my mother inherited the (farmland)," adding, "I am taking legal actions such as hiring a lawyer."
During the confirmation hearing held on the 15th at the National Assembly Trade. Industry Energy. SMEs. and Startups Committee, Han noted, "There are parts I need to explain regarding my mother's farmland law violation."
She is suspected of having an illegal building on her mother's 463㎡ farmland in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. A permit from the local government is required to build a structure on farmland. Han explained, "(The building) was not built by us," adding, "My father has been in ongoing disputes with the person who built it."
Lee Jong-bae, a member of the People Power Party, pointed out, "Regardless of who built the illegal structure, the owner of the farmland with the illegal building is responsible for its demolition."
Han added, "We have a petition that my father submitted to the Yangju City Hall, and I became aware of the related contents after inheriting the property," noting, "I am undertaking legal actions regarding this matter after hiring a lawyer."
Han described the incident involving an employee's death due to allegations of "workplace bullying" during her tenure as the representative of Naver as "a shocking incident." She resigned from her representative position due to this incident and was appointed as the head of European business development before being designated as an advisor earlier this year.
Han mentioned, "Everyone must take responsibility for this part, and thus the entire management team was replaced," adding, "I believe I can say that going as a representative for the European business is taking responsibility. I will reflect on the issues you have pointed out."
In 2021, a death incident occurred within an organization led by Choi In-hyeok at Naver, raising suspicions that 'workplace bullying' might have been the cause of the employee's death.
As a result of this incident, Choi stepped down, and the Naver Risk Management Committee, which oversaw the investigation, gave him a "warning". Choi rejoined the Naver Tech Business institutional sector in May after about four years.
Both ruling and opposition parties demanded the attendance of Choi and Oh Se-yoon, the head of the Naver branch of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) Chem-Fiber and Food Industry Workers' Union, who are linked to this incident. However, Choi submitted a document citing reasons for not attending.