Unification minister nominee to face tough questions amid tension with N. Korea

By Kim Hyun

SEOUL, Feb. 9 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak's nominee for unification minister faces a bruising confirmation hearing Monday as opposition lawmakers prepare to question the hawkish scholar on his ability to resolve mounting tension with North Korea and snowballing ethical allegations.

Answers to these questions by Hyun In-taek are expected to be closely monitored
by Pyongyang, which warned on Sunday that "inter-Korean relations will grow worse
and be pushed to collapse" should Hyun take office.
Hyun, a professor of political science at Korea University in Seoul, was the
major architect behind the Lee administration's policy of linking economic aid to
North Korea's denuclearization, which Pyongyang has consistently berated as
"anti-unification."
Military tension rose sharply following intelligence assessments last week that
North Korea may be preparing to test-launch a Taepodong-2 missile that in theory
is capable of reaching the U.S. West Coast. Days earlier, Pyongyang declared it
was scrapping a non-aggression accord with Seoul and threatened a military clash.
Remarks by Hyun during the confirmation hearing could signal how the Lee
government will respond to Pyongyang's coercive campaign. After his nomination on
Jan. 19, Hyun said he would consider relations with the United States in dealing
with North Korea.
"Inter-Korean relations are not simple or linear, but should be seen as
multi-faceted and connected to South Korea-U.S. relations and North Korea-U.S.
relations," he said.
Hyun also vowed to support Lee's current North Korea policy. His more dovish
predecessor, Kim Ha-joong, was forced to walk a tightrope between challenging the
conservative Lee on his hardline stance and avoiding any unnecessary provocation
of North Korea.
Opposition parties and liberal experts have responded with outrage to Hyun's
appointment. Following his nomination, Rep. Choi Jae-sung, spokesman of the main
opposition Democratic Party, described the nomination as "no different than
giving up on relations with North Korea."
Broadening allegations involving self-plagiarism and Hyun's personal wealth,
which have grabbed media headlines in recent days, will give the opposition more
ammunition as they attack his ethics.
Rep. Moon Hak-jin of the Democratic Party says he plans to inquire into a
suspicious deal involving land sold to Hyun by his father in 2006, allegedly
allowing the nominee to take over the land without paying proper inheritance
taxes. Hyun's father, a wealthy businessman, first sold the 165 square meters of
land on the southern resort island of Jeju to company employees, who then resold
it to Hyun.
Rep. Park Sun-young of the conservative opposition Liberty Forward Party has said
she will raise allegations of the duplicate publication of a thesis written by
Hyun.
Titled "Frictions between the U.S. and Japan over Industry and Military
Technologies and Prospects for Cooperation," the thesis was published in an
academic journal in February 1995. It appeared again in another journal in
November the following year under a slightly modified title, "International
Politics of Technology: Hegemonic War on Technology between the U.S. and Japan."
Duplicate publication, also called "redundant publication" or "self-plagiarism,"
refers to the publishing of the same piece more than once to pad an authors'
resume and is considered an ethical breach in academia.
Hyun has denied the allegations, saying he did not know of the 1995 publication.
Park rebuffed Hyun's explanation as a "sheer lie," noting he had counted the two
publications separately when he submitted his resume to Korea University for
employment.
In a press release on Saturday, Hyun said, "I appreciate sound criticism from the
media," adding he would clarify his position "with sincerity" during the hearing.