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| ▲ Culture Minister nominee Yoo In-chon answers questions from lawmakers in a parliamentary confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly in Seoul on Oct. 5, 2023. (Yonhap) |
ministers-confirmation hearing
National Assembly holds confirmation hearings on culture and gender minister nominees
By Kang Jae-eun
SEOUL, Oct. 5 (Yonhap) -- The National Assembly on Thursday held confirmation hearings on the culture and gender equality minister nominees, with opposition lawmakers raising various allegations against them.
The hearings came after Yoo In-chon, the special presidential adviser for culture and sports, and Kim Haeng, a former interim leadership member of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), were named the culture and gender equality ministers, respectively, in a partial Cabinet reshuffle last month.
The hearing on Yoo focused on allegations he created a "blacklist" of artists whose works were considered left-leaning or critical of the government when he served as the culture minister during the Lee Myung-bak administration.
The PPP defended Yoo, saying he has nothing to do with the allegations.
In the case of Kim's confirmation hearing, lawmakers sharply debated over whether Kim is suitable for the role overseeing gender and family issues.
Lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) took aim at some news reports published by WikiTree, an online news outlet co-founded by Kim, saying that she approved the publishing of suggestive or gender discriminatory reports on sexual abuse cases and women when she was in charge of the site.
In response, Kim said she made great efforts to follow journalistic ethics, adding that such practices are not only an issue of WikiTree but an issue concerning other media outlets in South Korea.
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