[WORD_ON_THE_WEB] 'Will he be able to lead the country with such a biased mindset?'

Chung Ho-young, nominee for minister of health and welfare, is facing growing criticism over favoritism shown to his children, an issue that has produced particularly divisive in Korean politics in the past.

The accusations stem from the fact that Chung’s son and daughter both transferred to Gyeongbuk University medical school while Chung held a senior position at the university's hospital. The daughter also received a perfect score in a speech test invigilated by people with connections to her father.

Meanwhile, Chung’s son was set to serve as an active-duty soldier during his mandatory military service, but was switched to a supplementary role after being diagnosed with spinal stenosis at Gyeongbuk University hospital.

Chung claimed that he "didn't use his position as leverage in any way" and asked the Ministry of Education to investigate whether there was special treatment.

As to claims regarding his son’s military service, he announced that “we’ll see that he gets examined in a hospital designated by the National Assembly and is diagnosed again.”

Yoon Suk-yeol, the president-elect, replied to the accusations by saying that “we need definitive proof to determine whether there were illegal acts,” according to Bae Hyun-jin, a spokesperson of the president-elect.

#insufficient_explanations
“This is too problematic to rub off as mere suspicion. It needs to be investigated by the prosecutors and police, not the Ministry of Education.”
“Reexamination after five years? What good is that going to do? When it comes to military service, the situation at that time is what matters. I doubt that they made clear judgments for the son of a soon-to-be minister, who’s a close friend of the future president.”

#fairness_and_justice?
“There are serious accusations. How can Yoon say such a thing? I’m disappointed. If the president-elect truly thinks this way, I’m worried what the future will bring.”
“He raised his voice to claim fairness and justice, and now what? It's ridiculous. Will he be able to lead the country with such a biased mindset?”

#thorough_verification
“It's no problem if he gets examined again in a hospital designated by the National Assembly, right? If the new results clear things up, then it’s problem solved.”
“If you’re innocent, then make everything public and offer explanations. Come clean, so that the Yoon government isn’t negatively affected!”

BY LEE SI-YEOUNG, YOO JI-WOO [yoo.jiwoo@joongang.co.kr]