Blue House weighs exit options for Lee nominee

Jan 21, 2026, 07:48 am

		0
Budget and Planning Minister nominee Lee Hye-hoon speaks to reporters as she arrives at her confirmation hearing preparation office in central Seoul on Jan. 20. The parliamentary confirmation hearing collapsed a day earlier amid partisan disputes. / Yonhap

The Blue House is weighing its next steps after the confirmation hearing for Budget and Planning Minister nominee Lee Hye-hoon collapsed for a second straight day, raising questions over whether pushing ahead with her appointment would undermine the administration’s pledge of unity and bipartisan cooperation.

According to political sources on Jan. 20, lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties on the National Assembly’s Strategy and Finance Committee failed to convene the hearing amid a standoff over document submissions. With the statutory deadline for adopting a confirmation report approaching, the decision on Lee’s appointment has effectively shifted to the Blue House.

Opposition parties have argued that proceeding without sufficient 자료 제출 would result in a hollow hearing. Committee chair Lim Yi-ja refused to place the hearing on the agenda, calling for further negotiations between the parties.

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea strongly criticized the move. Floor leader Han Byung-do said the opposition was derelict in its duties and urged an immediate reopening of the hearing, arguing that any unresolved questions should be addressed directly to the nominee during the session.

Ruling party officials countered claims of insufficient disclosure, noting that about 60 percent of more than 4,300 requested documents had been submitted as of the previous afternoon, with all materials from the Budget and Planning Ministry already provided. They said remaining requests involved sensitive personal information that would be unreasonable to demand.

The opposition People Power Party, however, maintained that without full disclosure, the hearing would be meaningless. Lawmaker Park Soo-young said key documents requested by opposition members had not been submitted, warning against what he called a “rubber-stamp hearing.”

With the confirmation hearing effectively derailed, attention has turned to whether the Blue House will request the National Assembly to resend the confirmation report. Under the law, the Assembly must hold a hearing and submit its report within 20 days of the request, a deadline that expires on Jan. 21.

The dilemma is particularly sensitive for President Lee Jae-myung, who has promoted Lee’s nomination as part of a broader effort to foster unity and cooperation across political lines. Forcing the appointment without parliamentary vetting, critics say, could dilute that message. An opposition party official said a voluntary decision by the nominee could ease the burden on both parties and the appointing authority.

#Lee Hye-hoon #confirmation hearing #Budget and Planning Ministry #Blue House #appointment