Health minister nominee denies allegations surrounding his children

Apr 18, 2022, 09:17 am

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Health minister nominee Chung Ho-young denies all of the accusations surrounding his children at the National Medical Center in Seoul on April 17, 2022./ Photographed by Jung Jae-hoon

AsiaToday reporter Kim Na-ri

Health minister nominee Chung Ho-young on Sunday denied allegations surrounding his children’s admissions into a medical school and avoiding mandatory military service, saying, “There was no unreasonable request or pressure of any kind.” The nominee requested a thorough investigation from the Ministry of Education on his children’s transfer admissions, and said he would undergo a re-examination at a designated medical institution for the suspicion of his son’s exemption from military service.

“I am standing here to clarify various allegations that have been raised without being based on facts, causing unnecessary concerns,” Chung said during a press conference at National Medical Center. “Regarding issues about my children, I assure you that there have been any improper acts using my position, and such acts were not possible, either,” he said. “If any unreasonable issues are found during an investigation, I will get disciplined.”

“My children transferring to a medical school and my son being exempt from military service had all proceeded according to ways in which the maximum level of fairness was guaranteed. There is no reason to doubt fairness of the results revealed by objective data,” Chung said. The nominee claimed that it was difficult to say there was any preference in the transfer process, considering that his children received higher scores in tests based on computer assessments than those tests scored by judges, such as interviews and document evaluations.

Regarding an allegation that Chung favored his son in hiring a volunteer at a university hospital, he said, “There was no need to make a separate request or solicitation because anyone who applies for it would be given an opportunity to participate in volunteer work without any restrictions.”

Chung also denied an allegation that his son benefited from his father’s status and was named as an co-author of two academic papers. “The two academic papers are related to the major of my son’s engineering school, not the medical school that I was working at. While consulting with his academic adviser, my son told him he wanted to take part in writing an academic paper as he was interested in U-healthcare sector. The professor allowed my son to join, considering his major and foreign language skills,” he said. “I am not acquainted with my son’s academic adviser, and the professor was not aware that he was my son. There was no request for my son’s participation in the research.”

The nominee asked the Ministry of Education to thoroughly investigate the allegations. “I request the Ministry of Education to thoroughly investigate my children’s transfers. I hope a thorough investigation is carried out as fast as possible in all areas related to the transfers, such as volunteer activities, academic paper writing, and evaluation results, so that baseless allegations are clarified.”

Regarding his son’s military service, he said, “My son underwent MRI two times at Kyungpook hospital and one CT scan at MMA, upon being declared physically ineligible for military service. Despite the facts, suspicions of my son’s military service are spreading without any grounds.” He requested the National Assembly to designate any medical institute to get his son tested once again to check if he is eligible for military service.

“For the past 40 years, I have been dedicating myself as a medical expert outside the capital region. I think I have lived honestly without nothing to be ashamed of,” he said. “Based on my experience in response to the pandemic, I will make people’s life return to normal and innovate the quarantine and medical system in preparation for a resurgence.”

#health minister nominee #Chung Ho-young