The People Power Party stated it would cooperate on adopting the personnel hearing report for the Minister candidates from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to finalize the U.S. reciprocal tariff negotiations of the Lee Jae-myung administration. As the hearings for the first ministerial candidates of the Lee Jae-myung government approach their final stages, the party demanded a meeting with President Lee Jae-myung regarding the appointments.
On the morning of the 18th, Song Eon-seok, chairperson and floor leader of the People Power Party, said at a floor countermeasure meeting held at the National Assembly, “As the implementation of the U.S. reciprocal tariff is less than two weeks away, we will cooperate to ensure that the hearing reports for the Ministers of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy are adopted promptly and that we can immediately engage in tariff negotiations.”
He emphasized, “Yeo Han-koo, director general of the Trade Negotiation Headquarters, mentioned the opening of agricultural and fishery products, increasing concerns among farming households. In particular, if imports of fruits and beef expand, the competitiveness of domestic agricultural and livestock products will weaken significantly, and the damage to farmers will be fatal.”
Regarding the appointment of Minister Lee Jae-myung, he urged President Lee to meet. He also criticized Jeong Eun-kyung, the Minister of Health and Welfare candidate scheduled for the hearing that day, for her so-called “COVID-19 financial technology” during her tenure as the director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. As for Lee Jin-sook, the Minister of Education candidate, he argued that she should resign voluntarily due to having received advice to instruct Ministry employees to 'lie' during the hearing.
Chairperson Song stated, “The Ministry of Education officials were advised to respond by saying they know what they do not know and to give evasive answers to difficult questions. How can a Minister receiving advice to lie lead a department?”
He added, “Jeong Eun-kyung’s candidacy is a comprehensive set of issues including so-called ‘COVID-19 technology,’ wrongful receipt of farmland subsidies, concealment of family company equity, and fabricated address registration. We demand a quick meeting with the president to address the issues of a malfunctioning personnel verification system and incompetent candidates.”
Regarding the recent flood damage, he said, “Unfortunately, there have been casualties as roads and dwellings were submerged in Seosan and Dangjin, Chungcheongnam-do. We must quickly review the designation of the disaster-affected areas as special disaster zones and expedite the proactive execution of finances, including reserve funds.”