At the personnel hearing on the morning of today (11th) for the Minister of SMEs and Startups Lee Young, the allegations of a conflict of interest by Lee Young were intensively investigated.
The subject of verification was the process of winning a research contract for a venture company founded by Lee and owning stocks and research services at a national research institute where Lee served as an advisor.
Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Jeong-ho said, "I founded a cyber security company called Terten, and I still have a 50.3% stake.
Terten is a venture company founded by Lee in 2000 claiming to be a specialized cyber security company. Lee served as the company's president until he was elected in the 2020 general election and started his term as a member of the National Assembly.
The opposition has continued to raise suspicions about the process of signing a research drug contract with Terten in 2020 by the National Institute of Security Technology, where Lee served as an advisory member.
Candidate Lee said, "I became a consultant for the National Security Technology Research Institute in 2010, and I sold the product in 2020. Is this a conflict of interest?
Assemblyman Shin Jeong-hoon of the same party pointed out that "Lee candidate owns 42,000 shares of Y Alliance Investment, a venture capital that he founded, and was assigned to the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee, but was notified by the Stock Blank Trust Committee that it was job-related."
Then he asked, "Is there any reason why the standing committee in charge was changed (to the Administrative Safety Committee) without disposing of the stock?"
Candidate Lee replied, "I was selected as the proportional representative of the 21st National Assembly and the time to organize the company was tight."
At the interrogation of opposition lawmakers, Lee emphasized in a weeping voice, "I may have been incompetent or lacking, but I did not use the company I founded for politics."
People's Power, the ruling party, focused on confirming Lee's will to support innovative start-up ventures.
Rep. Jung Woo-taek asked, "75% of investment in new ventures is concentrated in the metropolitan area, resulting in local alienation. What should we do about this?"
Candidate Lee replied, "We will unify everything from incubation to funding to provide satisfactory services."
When asked about ways to expand investment by large companies in relation to the expansion of initial startup investment, lawmaker Choi Jae-hyung of the same party said, "Fund funds should turn to investing in technology companies and open many doors for companies to invest."
(Photo = National Assembly Photo Reporters, Yonhap News)