New Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Moon-soo again stirs controversy with his remarks

Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Moon-soo.

Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Moon-soo said on September 4, “I think it would be worth being a minister if there was no National Assembly."

“As a minister (nominee), undergoing a personnel hearing is really difficult. Even my wife says it’s very hard and she‘s going to die,” Kim said appearing on KBS 1 radio show “Jeonkeoksisa.”

Kim was appointed as Minister of Employment and Labor after his confirmation hearing on August 26. He attended the National Assembly's Special Committee on Budget and Accounts for the third day in a row from September 2.

“It‘s not easy to appear in the National Assembly. I came to the National Assembly yesterday and the day before yesterday for the evaluation of balancing accounts, in addition to the confirmation hearing. I was here until dawn today, and now I’m here again,” he said.

Yesterday, the day before yesterday, and the day before that, I kept coming to the National Assembly to review the budget. I was here until dawn today, and now I’m here again,” he said.

When the host and conservative YouTuber Ko Sung-guk, asked, “I’m worried that the National Assembly will raise the issue again, saying that (Kim’s words) belittle the National Assembly,” Kim replied, "I attach too much importance to the National Assembly, so it is very heavy for me.”

Kim reaffirmed his stance that the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye was wrong. “She is cleaner than me because she has no family and has considerable wealth,” he said.

Despite Prime Minister Han Duck-soo‘s remark that “the nationality of the ancestors during the Japanese occupation is Korea,” Kim maintained his opinion that their nationality was Japan.

“Diplomatically, the Korea-Japan talks invalidated Japan’s annexation of Korea as a colony during the Japanese occupation, but when I look at my family register, my parents and grandparents were registered as Japanese during the Japanese colonial period,” he said.

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.