Opposition parties urge Chung to resign as prime minister nominee

SEOUL, Sept. 22 (Yonhap) -- Opposition parties on Tuesday threatened to vote
against President Lee Myung-bak's prime minister nominee, Chung Un-chan, raising
fresh questions about his son's U.S. citizenship in the second and final day of
parliamentary confirmation hearing.
Chung, formerly economics professor at Seoul National University (SNU), was
intensively questioned by opposition lawmakers about his eldest son's move to
forfeit Korean nationality and retain U.S. citizenship in the early 2000s after
living here with dual citizenship for over two decades.
Dual citizenship is a sensitive issue in South Korea, as it is often abused by
sons of the rich and powerful as a means to dodge mandatory military service.
Current law requires South Koreans who obtain dual citizenship before age 20 to
renounce one of them before they turn 22.
Chung said his eldest son finished his military service in 2001 but later lost
his Korean citizenship due to misunderstanding of the current law.
"My eldest son acquired U.S. citizenship after being born in New York during my
U.S. study trip. After belatedly learning of his loss of Korean citizenship, he
is now applying to give up his U.S. citizenship," said Chung in the confirmation
hearing.
The 63-year-old nominee, who served as president of SNU, was also again attacked
by opposition lawmakers for his objection to an opposition-backed plan to
relocate nine ministries and four government agencies to Sejong City, a new
administrative town in South Chungcheong Province, about 160km south of Seoul.
The project to build Sejong City was first conceived in 2002 as a presidential
campaign promise of then ruling Democratic Party (DP) candidate Roh Moo-hyun.
Explosive support from Chungcheong voters swayed the result of a very close
presidential race in favor of Roh at that time.
Fearful of a political backlash in Chungcheong, the incumbent Lee Myung-bak
administration and the ruling Grand National Party have vowed to abide by Roh's
pledge. But Chung's proposal to revise or downsize the Sejong project has
incurred fierce protests from the DP, now the main opposition party, and other
minor opposition parties.
Insisting that scattering government ministries to two different locations would
lead to nationwide inefficiency, Chung said he will look for the best alternative
to make Sejong a self-sufficient city.
"As the National Assembly has approved, I, if confirmed as a prime minister, will
make efforts to make the Sejong city self-sufficient," said Chung, referring to a
special legislation on the relocation of nine ministries to Sejong that passed
parliament in 2007.
Opposition lawmakers also grilled Chung about a handful of suspicions of his
personal irregularities, including exemption from military service in the 1970s,
acceptance of 10 million won (US$8,300) in cash from a Seoul businessman and
evasion of income and real estate transaction taxes, while ruling party lawmakers
struggled to defend him.
"We have strong question about Chung's capability to serve as prime minister, as
he has already been involved in a number of irregularities, including his
reception of 10 million won from a businessman," said Lee Kang-rae, floor leader
of the DP.
"Sejong City is a core project supported by the preceding and incumbent
governments to promote balanced national development. Therefore, it should not be
scrapped. It is desirable for Chung to resign as prime minister nominee by
himself," Lee said.
Rival parties are scheduled to convene a plenary session early next week to vote
on the prime minister nominee. His nomination will be approved by the consent of
more than half the lawmakers attending the parliamentary session.
In a poll of 249 ruling and opposition lawmakers by the vernacular Munhwa Ilbo
newspaper, 51 percent expressed support for Chung's nomination.
Chung, who was once mentioned as a ruling party presidential candidate in 2007,
told the parliamentary hearing that he has no intention to become a president in
the future.
"I have never been asked by the DP to run for president," Chung said. "I have
never thought of being a presidential hopeful. I just want to become a prime
minister who serves the country and the people."
brk@yna.co.kr
(END)