The confirmation hearing for Prime Minister candidate Kim Min-seok, held at the National Assembly on the 24th, created a turbulent atmosphere with heated exchanges from the start. This hearing was conducted without witnesses or reference persons for the first time since the introduction of the Prime Minister confirmation hearing system in 2000, leading to a blame game between the ruling and opposition parties.
The People Power Party strongly objected, stating, "It has turned into a 'blank-check hearing' without witnesses or document submissions." Representative Bae Joon-young of the People Power Party criticized, "A hearing is a meeting where questions are asked and answered, yet the candidate has not properly consented to provide personal information, and there is a complete lack of materials explaining the issues." The People Power Party demanded only five witnesses excluding family members and ex-spouses, but asserted that the Democratic Party refused this.
In response, the Democratic Party of Korea countered, "Many of the materials requested by the People Power Party were unreasonable and nonsensical," arguing that selecting witnesses and reference persons is a condition for the smooth progress of the hearing, not a necessity. Democratic Party Secretary Kim Hyun stated, "It can be adopted by vote, but the chairperson declared a breakdown in negotiations, leading to a hearing without witnesses."
During the hearing, issues regarding Kim's financial transactions and the source of funds for his children's study abroad were raised, focusing on morality and integrity.
People Power Party lawmaker Kwak Gyu-taek stated, "After not repaying a transaction of 140 million won for seven years, it was only after his nomination as Prime Minister that repayment was made," demanding the submission of related account statements and loan records. Representative Joo Jin-woo questioned the source of the funds for Kim's son's study in the United States, stating, "It is unclear how the study abroad expenses were transferred."
During this process, Democratic Party lawmakers protested, stating, "It is an invasion of privacy" and "It is a violation of human rights," with Representative Park Seon-won insisting, "We shouldn't be focused solely on personal attacks." During the hearing, the atmosphere became heated, with comments such as "Be quiet" and "Are you crazy?" exchanged along with apologies.
The People Power Party claimed, "We requested the submission of 97 documents, but only 7 were submitted," asserting, "If such a person becomes Prime Minister, cooperation between the ruling and opposition parties will be impossible." On the other hand, the Democratic Party pointed out that the People Power Party, which proposed a bill to punish the refusal of document submissions during the opposition period, changed its stance to conduct ethical verification privately after taking power, raising concerns over hypocrisy.
On that day, candidate Kim Min-seok stated in his opening remarks, "It is unfortunate that the government is being operated solely by the President's struggles without a new Prime Minister and ministers appointed, and this situation is ongoing," emphasizing, "The government, which began from scratch without a transition committee, needs the cooperation of the political sector, including both ruling and opposition parties, to quickly stabilize Korea."