The main opposition party on Sunday called on President Park Geun-hye’s nominee for prime minister to voluntarily withdraw his name amid allegations of ethical lapses.
Last month, Park nominated Lee Wan-koo, a U.S.-educated three-term lawmaker and then floor leader of the ruling Saenuri Party, to replace Prime Minister Chung Hong-won. He is scheduled to undergo confirmation hearings at the National Assembly on Tuesday and Wednesday, after which a plenary session will be convened on Thursday to put his nomination to a vote.
Lee and his second son are suspected of avoiding conscription, a highly sensitive issue in South Korea, which remains technically at war with North Korea since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. All able-bodied South Korean men between the ages of 18 and 35 must serve in the military for about two years.
The prime minister nominee is also suspected of speculating in real estate, plagiarizing his doctoral thesis and intentionally omitting parts of his annual wealth report.
“Prime Minister nominee Lee should decide his course of action on his own,” a group of lawmakers from the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy said in a statement. “He should fully explain about the suspicions and apologize to the nation.”
Lee is not qualified to become a prime minister because he has persisted in denying the suspicions, the lawmakers said, adding that what is more serious is his ignorance of his wrongdoing.
The ruling party criticized the main opposition party for pressuring the prime minister nominee to step down, based only on suspicions without undergoing a legal procedure.
“It is not desirable to try to make the nominee drop his nomination, citing only suspicions,” Saenuri spokeswoman Rep. Kwon Eun-hee said. “Credentials of public-post nominees should be screened through a confirmation hearing.”
Chung will remain in the country’s No. 2 political job until Lee is confirmed by the National Assembly, where Park’s conservative party commands a majority. Chung offered to resign in the wake of April’s tragic ferry accident that claimed more than 300 lives, but Park retained him in June.
In South Korea, the prime minister is the second-highest position after the president, but the job has been limited to a largely ceremonial role as power is concentrated heavily in the president. (Yonhap)
