Parliamentary hearings raise awkward issues all around

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo answers questions during the parliamentary inquiry into the Yoon Suk-yeol government at the National Assembly in western Seoul Monday. [NEWS1]

Lawmakers grilled government agencies on political, diplomatic and national security issues Monday, the first such parliamentary inquiry since the launch of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.

Foreign Minister Park Jin, who visited Tokyo earlier this month, confirmed during a parliamentary hearing that a concrete solution to the forced labor compensation issue is a prerequisite for a Korea-Japan summit.

Park told lawmakers that in his recent talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, he said, "We will do our best to resolve this issue as soon as possible."

He added, "We also urged Japan to take measures to respond in a sincere way."

Tokyo has protested Korean Supreme Court's rulings in 2018 ordering Japanese companies to compensate victims of forced labor during World War II, which contributed to the deterioration of bilateral ties between the two countries.

"We are collecting various opinions from the victims, related parties, academic experts and businesspeople," said Park. "The victim's side is demanding direct negotiations with the accused companies and an apology from Japan. We are trying to relay this to Japan and respect the victims' opinions as much as possible while finding a reasonable solution for both Korea and Japan."

Park replied he was "not sure" when asked about the timing of a bilateral summit with Japan's prime minister but added, "I expect that a summit will be held naturally if a desirable solution to the pending issues, including forced labor, comes about."

Other members of Yoon's Cabinet including Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon, Unification Minister Kwon Young-se and Interior Minister Lee Sang-min were also questioned by lawmakers on a series of tough issues related to domestic politics.

The National Assembly's three-day inquiry comes as Yoon's People Power Party (PPP) and rival liberal Democratic Party (DP) have collided over a range of issues including questionable appointments to the presidential office and security decisions related to North Korea by the previous administration.

This includes a controversy surrounding North Korea's murder of a South Korean fisheries official in 2020 and the forced repatriation of two North Korean fishermen accused of murdering their crew in 2019. The PPP focused the inquiry on what it has described as the mishandling of security matters related to North Korea by the Moon Jae-in government.

In turn, the DP grilled ministers about the administration's alleged hiring of Yoon's relatives and close acquaintances to work for the presidential office, as well as the large number of appointments of former prosecutors.

Another issue is a new police oversight bureau being formed by the Interior Ministry, which is generating significant blowback from police.

DP Rep. Park Beom-gye, who served as justice minister in the Moon administration, and incumbent Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon clashed over personnel screening matters.

Park called Han "the king of kings" over the Justice Ministry's creation of a new personnel vetting unit to screen candidates for public offices. This has led to criticism that such a vetting system may give excessive power to the ministry, which has said the move promotes transparency.

Han retorted that there was "no legal issue."

Tuesday's parliamentary inquiry will cover the economy and Wednesday's societal issues.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]