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Finance minister nominee reported to police over workplace abuse while lawmaker

Published: 02 Jan. 2026, 15:19 Updated: 02 Jan. 2026, 15:38

Lee Hye-hoon, a former People Power Party lawmaker, arrives at an office set up at the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation in Jung District, central Seoul, on Dec. 30, 2025, to prepare for her confirmation hearing. [YONHAP]

Lee Hye-hoon, the nominee for the inaugural minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, has been reported to police over allegations of workplace abuse and verbal intimidation toward an intern during her time as a lawmaker.

Lee Jong-bae, a Seoul city councilor, said he filed a criminal complaint against the nominee with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on Friday morning, accusing her of making threats and abusing her authority.

The complaint comes as a political firestorm is brewing over the future of the prospective minister, with the conservative opposition launching an all-out offensive, while the ruling liberal party remains divided between calls for caution and demands for the withdrawal of her nomination.

On Thursday, conservative People Power Party (PPP) Rep. Joo Jin-woo released an audio recording on his blog in which Lee Hye-hoon is heard shouting profanities at an intern while serving as a lawmaker for the center-right Bareun Party in 2017. The file is the unedited version of audio clips aired earlier this week by a broadcaster.

In the roughly three-minute recording, Lee can be heard repeatedly hurling verbal abuse, including remarks such as “Don’t you understand Korean?” “Is your IQ in the single digits?” “I really wish I could kill you,” and “Who do you think you are to make judgments?”

Lee Hye-hoon, the nominee for the new minister for planning and budget, talks to reporters while heading to her office to prepare for her parliamentary confirmation hearing in central Seoul on Dec. 29, 2025. [YONHAP]

Lee also allegedly ordered aides to repair a printer at her home, an act that would constitute “workplace abuse subject to disciplinary action,” Joo said in a Facebook post Friday. The lawmaker added that he had received additional tips claiming she instructed aides to pick up her son from the airport while he was studying abroad.

“There is talk on the street that since the president himself once used colorful profanity toward his sister-in-law, he may have thought it no big deal to nominate someone who hurled unspeakable abuse at an intern aide,” said PPP floor leader Song Eon-seog at a press briefing.

“A string of failed vetting cases — from the ‘queen of abuse,’ former gender equality minister nominee Kang Sun-woo, to the ‘king of verbal abuse,’ Education Minister Choi Gyo-jin — has now reached its climax with Lee’s nomination,” Song added.

Lee is known to have three sons. “Listening to the recording of the abuse toward an aide raises serious doubts about whether the public can accept her,” former Daegu mayor Hong Joon-pyo wrote on Facebook. “This is an issue of character that predates politics.”

Participants shave their heads during an anti-impeachment rally supporting former President Yoon Suk Yeol held by the People Power Party’s Jung District-Seongdong District B constituency chapter in January 2024. Lee Hye-hoon, left, who was serving as the party chapter chair at the time, greets the crowd. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

The Democratic Party (DP) has stopped short of fully defending Lee as well.

“The key question is whether the public can accept the sincerity of her apology regarding the abuse and her past anti-impeachment actions,” said Baek Hye-ryun, a DP lawmaker seen as a contender for floor leader, in a KBS radio interview Friday, adding that the confirmation hearing should be watched closely.

“Frankly, I don’t think this was a particularly good appointment,” DP Rep. Jin Sung-joon, another floor leader hopeful, said on YTN radio. He added that the president should make the final decision on whether to proceed with the appointment after a thorough review during the confirmation hearing.

By contrast, two-term DP Rep. Jang Chul-min called for the nominee to voluntarily withdraw from consideration, writing on Facebook late Thursday that “verbal abuse is a form of violence worse than physical assault.”

The Blue House has said it will “wait and see how the verification process unfolds during the confirmation hearing.”

Presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik arrives at the Incheon Internation Airport to leave for Germany as the Presidential Economic Cooperation Envoy, on Oct. 19, 2025. [NEWS1]

“The president is aware that this nomination itself is a challenge,” Kang Hoon-sik, chief of staff to the president, said Friday during an appearance on a YouTube program hosted by liberal commentator Kim Eo-jun.

Kang added that the president was also briefed on the nominee’s past remarks criticizing the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk Yeol over charges of insurrection by declaration of martial law on Dec. 3 last year.

“What we are saying is that we need to consider the nomination at least to the point where the nominee offers a sincere apology over the ‘insurrection and martial law,’” Kang said. “Even so, this nomination remains a challenging task. Her policy vision and philosophy will be scrutinized during the confirmation hearing, and we hope that this challenge will ultimately prove worthwhile.”

“The president believes tackling such difficult challenges is necessary to demonstrate our commitment to unity to a broader segment of the public,” Kang added.

Lee Hye-hoon, the nominee for the new minister for planning and budget, talks to reporters while heading to her office to prepare for her parliamentary confirmation hearing in Seoul on Dec. 30, 2025. [YONHAP]

“‘Insurrection’ refers to an illegal act that destroys democracy,” nominee Lee said Tuesday, apologizing for her past opposition to the impeachment of Yoon and saying she had failed at the time to fully grasp the reality of the situation.

“The nominee sincerely apologizes and deeply reflects on the fact that her remarks during the course of work caused serious harm to the employee,” an aide to Lee told local news outlet Yonhap News Agency, adding that she is offering her apologies without any excuse and is engaging in “deep self-reflection.”

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.
BY KIM MIN-YOUNG, PARK JUN-KYU [[email protected]]