Seoul: Rival parties will hold a two-day confirmation hearing for Prime Minister nominee Kim Min-seok next week, a lawmaker announced Tuesday. Under the plan, the confirmation hearing is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday next week, according to Rep. Lee Jong-bae of the People Power Party, who leads the parliamentary confirmation hearing special committee.
According to Yonhap News Agency, President Lee Jae Myung submitted a request to the National Assembly on June 10, seeking a confirmation hearing for Kim. By law, the National Assembly is required to complete the confirmation hearing by June 25, with a parliamentary evaluation to follow by June 29.
Kim, known for his background as a student activist and his tenure as a four-term lawmaker, was instrumental in Lee's presidential campaign. He emphasized engagement with North Korea when questioned about the potential resumption of inter-Korean dialogue or the reinstatement of a 2018 military tension reduction pact. "Whichever happens, wouldn't they be linked to dialogue?" Kim remarked during a press briefing with foreign journalists, without specifying when such developments might occur.
South Korea suspended the inter-Korean accord fully in June last year following North Korea's cross-border balloon campaigns, after already partially suspending it in 2023 in response to the North's launch of a military spy satellite.