‘GSGG' justice minister nominee should face confirmation hearing

Columns Confirmation hearings must examine not only controversial nominees, but also how the Lee Jae Myung administration makes its Cabinet choices. Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won answers reporters' questions as he arrives at his confirmation hearing preparation office at the Jeokseon Hyundai Building in Jongno District, central Seoul, on the morning of Sept. 3. NEWS1 Keum Tae-sup The author is a former lawmaker and prosecutor. Cabinet ministers in Korea have lost stature. A generation ago, ordinary people knew most ministers' names, but it is difficult to find ministers who voice independent opinions or exercise decision-making authority. Former President Park Geun-hye once turned to ministers at a press conference and asked whether face-to-face briefings were really necessary. Even ministry heads found it difficult to see the president. This was not unique to Park. Under recent liberal and conservative administrations alike, presidents and Blue House aides have often determined policy while ministers merely implemented decisions already made. Controversy surrounds Yong Hye-in, the nominee for gender equality and family minister, but would the ministry change substantially if she takes office? Probably not. Like most ministers outside a small circle of powerful figures, she may end up performing ceremonial duties. This has fueled claims that confirmation hearings are useless. Presidential personnel officials complain that capable candidates refuse nominations because they fear scrutiny of their private lives. Opposition parties also demand that controversial nominees withdraw before hearings begin. Yet confirmation hearings matter for at least two reasons. First, appointments reveal a government's values and direction. Few messages are as powerful as personnel choices. Naming a foreign or unification minister, for example, sends a signal to other countries about the government's position. Citizens excluded from Blue House deliberations judge the direction of policy partly by the people chosen for the Cabinet. Appointments also show what kinds of people succeed in Korean society. Becoming a minister remains one of the highest markers of achievement. Nominees should therefore be people who children contemplating their futures can look to as examples. That is why integrity matters along with competence at confirmation hearings. Candidates need not have spotless pasts, but mistakes require honest acknowledgment and reflection. Second, hearings reveal how decisions are made inside government and how mistakes are handled. Governments sometimes face choices far more difficult than reshuffling a Cabinet. The possibility of deploying Korean forces to the Strait of Hormuz could profoundly affect both the national interest and individual lives. Such decisions inevitably produce conflict. Citizens have a right to know whose advice their government hears and what process it follows. The government, meanwhile, needs public trust if it hopes to persuade opponents and build consensus. Confirmation hearings, watched by politicians and the media, offer a rare opportunity to examine government decision-making. From that perspective, controversial nominees must appear before hearings and answer questions. Justice minister nominee Kim Seung-won, for example, faces several controversies, including allegations involving a request concerning the head of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. But one episode stands out. As a lawmaker in 2021, Kim caused an uproar by writing 'GSGG' in reference to then National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug. On Korean online communities, the letters were widely understood as a romanized shorthand for a highly offensive Korean insult. Kim later claimed the letters meant that 'government should serve the general good will,' rendering them as 'Government serves general G.' The explanation was widely derided as implausible. A sitting legislator had apparently directed crude abuse at the head of the legislature, then responded to criticism with an explanation that seemed to mock the public. It is difficult to reconcile such conduct with respect for the Constitution. A confirmation hearing should establish how, and through what deliberations, someone with this record became the nominee to lead the Justice Ministry. The government must explain why it chose Kim and whether it accepts his explanation of 'GSGG.' If it does, questions about basic judgment are unavoidable. If the appointment proves mistaken, the administration should take responsibility and correct it. The Lee Jae Myung administration still has well over three years remaining. It will make countless appointments and consequential decisions. If this reshuffle, already drawing exceptionally harsh criticism, is allowed to fade away through voluntary withdrawals without examining how the choices were made, the same failures will recur. The opposition should not focus solely on forcing nominees out before hearings. It should instead demonstrate its ability by asking sharp, substantive questions there. In that process, the public can judge not only the nominees and the administration that selected them, but also whether the opposition itself is capable of providing serious scrutiny. This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.