Another hollow hearing for prime minister nominee

The National Assembly's confirmation hearing for Prime Minister nominee Han Seong-sook on Thursday is unlikely to escape criticism for failing to provide meaningful scrutiny. The hearing was intended to assess the qualifications, integrity and policy competence of the nominee for the nation's second-highest office and the official responsible for overseeing the executive branch. A prime minister must also demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of economic, security and foreign policy issues. Instead, the public was left watching another round of partisan political sparring.

The primary responsibility for the hearing's failure lies with the ruling Democratic Party. It opposed all 11 witnesses and the reference witnesses requested by the opposition. The party had similarly blocked all witness testimony during last year's confirmation hearing for Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, and it again denied the public an opportunity for fuller verification. Before the hearing, Han had faced questions over previously owning multiple homes, allegations that suspected violations of the Farmland Act involving land in Yangpyeong had been left unresolved and claims of irregular asset transfers through family gifts. Of the 24 confirmation hearings held for nominees to the first Cabinet of the Lee Jae Myung administration, about 80 percent proceeded without witnesses. The ruling party appeared more focused on defending nominees than examining them. Some lawmakers even argued that many previous public officials had owned multiple homes and few had actually sold them, effectively downplaying the controversy.

That does not absolve the opposition People Power Party of responsibility. It had vowed to rigorously examine Han's real estate issues before the hearing, but failed to deliver decisive questioning. Instead, it resorted to emotional attacks, quoting President Lee's past remarks and accusing Han of merely replacing "the demon of multiple homeownership" with "the demon of power." At the same time, the opposition failed to seriously examine Han's policy agenda, including her pledge to lead Korea's AI transformation after a career in the private sector. Questions such as asking her to identify the country's "principal enemy" only highlighted the opposition's own lack of preparation.

A confirmation hearing for a prime minister should not become another contest of political strength between rival parties. During the remaining review process, both sides should fulfill their responsibility to the public by carefully examining the nominee's competence and qualifications. Han's nomination is an unconventional one, given her relatively limited political and bureaucratic experience. For that reason, she should use the hearing to demonstrate her ability to manage national crises, coordinate government policy and communicate effectively with both the ruling and opposition parties.