Prime Minister Candidate Han Deok-soo is in a difficult situation as the law firm's high remuneration and conflict of interest controversy followed by suspicions related to real estate.
When the news of a candidate's nomination was announced on the 3rd, there was a prevailing view that it would be a 'good card' without much difficulty in passing the personnel hearing, but as time passes, the process of property formation is gradually rising on the board.
According to today (7th), according to the Prime Minister's Office Personnel Hearing Preparation Team, first of all, from 1989 to 1999, a candidate was sent to Mobile Oil Korea, a subsidiary of US telecom giant AT&T and US global oil company Mobil (currently Exxon Mobil), in Sinmun-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul. We rented a three-story house.
When the closing registration certificate of this house was removed, in September 1995, there was also a record that Mobil Oil Korea set up a mortgage with a maximum amount of 169.89 million won in bonds.
In particular, during this period, a candidate served as the head of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the presidential secretary for trade and industry, and then held high-ranking positions in the trade field, such as the vice minister of trade and industry, and the head of the trade negotiation headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Some members of the Democratic Party are also raising doubts that a candidate's public position may have led to private interests.
In addition, as it is known that the Sinmun-ro 1-ga house was put up for sale for about 10 billion won last year, various speculations about the size of a candidate's fortune are emerging.
One candidate met with reporters on the way to work on the 5th and said, "I will explain it without hiding it at the hearing."
However, as the verification of property begins in earnest, the Democratic Party is poised to debate whether it is suitable for the public's eye level.
Earlier, after a candidate retired from public office, he worked as an advisor at Kim & Chang Law Firm and received an advisory fee of 1.8 billion won for 4 years and 4 months, and received about 82 million won while concurrently serving as an outside director of S-Oil for the past year. The Democratic Party is raising allegations of public courtesy.
Also, since November 2002, he served as an advisor at Kim & Chang, Lone Star's domestic legal representative, for eight months, raising suspicions that the Democratic Party intervened in Lone Star's acquisition and sale of KEB, as well as the controversy over the 'revolving door' between public offices and law firms. .
In a radio interview yesterday, Democratic Party lawmaker Park Yong-jin said about a candidate's career at a law firm Kim & Chang, saying, "I worked as a high-ranking bureaucrat at a law firm and then returned to the prime minister, after playing as a referee in a game and then as a player. It is a case of returning to the referee again in overtime.”
As the Roh Moo-hyun administration already passed the National Assembly personnel hearing procedure as a prime minister candidate in 2007, the transition committee, which predicted a smooth pass this time, is also hesitant to explain the continuing suspicions.
A candidate went to work today at the Korea Productivity Center building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, where the office of the hearing preparation team is located, but he went in without answering reporters' questions, unlike the previous way to work, perhaps because he was conscious of this controversy.
Even though the departure time was about 15 minutes earlier than announced by the Prime Minister's Office, the view that he was not trying to meet the reporters was raised by some.
However, the hearing preparation team said that it was not a big deal, saying, "It was carried out by entrusting the real estate with the allegations related to a candidate's housing rental."
“At the time of rental, it was difficult for foreign companies to own real estate in Korea, and long-term monthly rent was common,” said an official from the preparation team in a media call. It was left up to him, and the candidate only found out who the tenant was later,” he explained.
Regarding the attempt to sell a house for about 10 billion won, he said, "I have inquired about the sale price for reasons such as difficulties in house management and preparation for retirement, but now they say they have no intention of selling it."