Justice minister nominee faces questions on his daughter

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Justice minister nominee faces questions on his daughter

Justice Minister nominee Han Dong-hoon

Justice Minister nominee Han Dong-hoon

Justice Minister nominee Han Dong-hoon's aides Thursday refuted claims from a local newspaper that Han's teenage daughter exaggerated her high school extracurricular activities, warning of tough legal action for what they called disinformation.
 
But the aides to Han, a senior prosecutor and ally of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, remained mum about several other allegations in The Hankyoreh report, sparking questions as to whether Han's daughter tried to use family ties to get into a prominent university.
 
Han’s daughter is attending an international school in Incheon.
 
On Wednesday afternoon, The Hankyoreh reported that Han’s daughter seems to have received assistance from a college admissions consulting firm, pointing out that in the course of two months, she was found to have written five research papers and four e-books.
 
Admissions consulting firms in Korea have often been in the crosshairs of education authorities, who argue that the companies are paid by well-heeled families to illegally ghost-write material for student clients, helping them win awards and better their chances of getting into good universities.
 
Aides who are helping Han prepare for the confirmation hearing told local press Thursday that the younger Han did not receive “any consulting services from a consulting firm specialized in [helping students who wish to] study abroad.”
 
Han’s confirmation hearing is scheduled for Friday.
 
The Hankyoreh reported that Han’s daughter wrote a total of six research papers in the latter half of last year and submitted them to a platform called Open Access Journals. In 2020 and 2021, the younger Han was said to have authored 10 e-books.
 
Han’s confirmation hearing team Thursday took issue with The Hankyoreh’s use of the word “research paper,” saying it was the news outlet that was exaggerating the daughter’s work. The team said the papers were simply a compilation of the younger Han’s school assignments and essay competition submissions, stressing they were nothing like research papers.
 
On the accusations about the e-books, Han’s confirmation hearing team explained that the “books” the newspaper were referring to were, in fact, “lecture plans” that the daughter uploaded to a self-publishing site. The lecture plans were English, math and science, learning materials she made for her extracurricular voluntary work teaching kids, the team said.
 
The nominee’s aides, however, made no direct mention of The Hankyoreh’s accusation concerning the daughter’s interview with two American websites, in which she was praised for her dedication to a voluntary work organization she established. The outlet pointed out that the websites mainly run paid content without considering actual news value, suggesting Han’s daughter paid money to add another achievement for her college applications.
 
After The Hankyoreh report was published, Han’s aides Thursday said the daughter was receiving threats via email, and her photo was being disseminated on various websites and blogs. The team warned of tough legal action against anyone trying to blackmail her or spreading photos of her online. 

BY LEE SUNG-EUN, JUNG YOO-JIN [lee.sungeun@joongang.co.kr]
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