Minister Kang Seon-woo, the candidate for the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, said on the 14th regarding the allegations about mistreatment of her aides, "I feel sorry for the controversy caused by me," adding, "I sincerely apologize to those aides who might have been hurt amid that controversy."
On the same day, during a confirmation hearing at the National Assembly's Education Committee, Kang responded to a question from Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Baek Seung-ah about her feelings while preparing for the confirmation hearing over the past three weeks.
Previously, there were allegations that Kang had replaced her aides 46 times during her five years as a member of the National Assembly and directed them to perform tasks such as separating trash at her home and repairing toilets.
She also noted, "During the past three weeks, I was able to reflect not only on work related to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family but also on myself," and added, "It was painful, but on the other hand, it was a grateful time."
Kang also said, "I will humbly accept the points where I was lacking and will use this as a foundation to live more carefully and with deeper consideration moving forward."
The candidate refuted the "residential registration fraud" allegations raised by People Power Party lawmaker Seo Myung-ok. Seo argued that while the candidate's family of four had their resident registration at Apartment A in Hwagok-dong, Gangseo-gu, in reality, her husband, children, and mother reside in Jongno-gu.
Kang stated, "My family is not in a typical situation," and added, "The whole family originally lived near Gwanghwamun in Seoul but moved to Gangseo-gap, my electoral district, after the 21st general election."
She continued, "For our child (who has developmental disabilities), moving the residence immediately to Gangseo was a tough situation, and my spouse also works near Gwanghwamun," stating, "That’s why we kept the house in Gwanghwamun to meet friends often."