PM nominee faces 2-day hearing

[Anchor]

The confirmation hearing for Prime Minister nominee Kim Min-seok has been scheduled to take place over two days, on June 24 and 25.

The People Power Party is urging the nominee to make a decision regarding his position, citing various allegations.

Nominee Kim is determined to confront these issues head-on.

Kim Yu-dae reports.

[Report]

In a meeting chaired by the special committee chair to coordinate the confirmation hearing, the People Power Party argued that there are many issues to verify and insisted on holding the hearing for three days, while the Democratic Party countered that two days would be sufficient.

After some back and forth, both parties agreed to hold the hearing on the 24th and 25th, with the ruling party agreeing to cooperate with the opposition's request for document submissions.

Additional discussions regarding witnesses for the hearing will be held later.

[Lee Jong-bae/Chairman of the Special Committee on Personnel Hearing/People Power Party: "Reaching an agreement for two days on the 24th and 25th was quite a challenging negotiation...."]

The People Power Party has defined various allegations as '10 major disqualifications' and has repeatedly urged nominee Kim to make a decision regarding his position.

In particular, they are adamant about calling witnesses, including Mr. Kang, who was involved in the controversy over Kim's personal debts and previously provided illegal political funds to Kim.

[Bae June-young/Opposition Whip of the Special Committee on Personnel Hearing/People Power Party: "It seems necessary to clarify the flow of money, including loans that are not reasonable."]

The Democratic Party dismissed this as a political offensive that misrepresents legal debts as illegal funds.

They countered by demanding that the People Power Party members who raise these allegations disclose their own wealth accumulation.

[Park Sun-won/Member of the Special Committee on Personnel Hearing/Democratic Party: "A cheap attack that seeks to build one's political gain by stepping on the wounds of others...."]

Nominee Kim Min-seok is also taking a confrontational stance.

He rebutted that he has suffered economic hardship due to targeted investigations and borrowed money from acquaintances to resolve tax pressures.

[Kim Min-seok/Prime Minister Nominee: "Understanding the opposition's objections does not create any legal issues that do not exist. I will answer all questions."]

Both parties plan to finalize the list of witnesses and references by tomorrow (6.18) and vote on the confirmation hearing implementation plan.

KBS News, Kim Yu-dae.