Yong's withdrawal shakes confirmation hearings as parties train fire on Kim Seung-won

The withdrawal of Yong Hye-in as nominee for minister of gender equality and family on Sunday has thrown the confirmation hearing process surrounding President Lee Jae Myung's second-term Cabinet reshuffle into a new phase.

The political battle lines, previously split between challenges to both Yong and Justice Ministry nominee Kim Seung-won, have rapidly converged into a single front focused squarely on Kim.

The Democratic Party of Korea, having dodged a major crisis with Yong's exit, plans to dig in and throw its full weight behind defending Kim. The People Power Party, emboldened by Yong's withdrawal, has set its sights on Kim as its next target and vowed an all-out offensive to highlight what it calls a pattern of failed appointments by the Lee administration.

The Democratic Party issued no formal statement immediately after Yong's withdrawal, keeping its public response muted. Rep. Kim Tae-seon, chief of staff to party leader Kim Min-seok, disclosed on Facebook that Kim Min-seok had personally urged Yong to step down.

"Although the issue of holding a proportional representation seat concurrently may not constitute a legal violation, there were aspects that did not fully meet public expectations and sentiment," Rep. Kim wrote. "I, as chief of staff, conveyed party leader Kim Min-seok's recommendation to voluntarily withdraw — a recommendation made after taking the public mood into account — to nominee Yong Hye-in."

On Kim Seung-won, however, the party went on the offensive, holding a joint press conference with lawmakers from the Rebuilding Korea Party and the Progressive Party on the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, arguing that past prosecutorial investigations into Kim had amounted to politically targeted probes.

The PPP, for its part, characterized Yong's withdrawal as an inevitable outcome and declared it would focus all its energy on forcing Kim Seung-won out next.

Chief Spokesperson Choi Bo-yun said in a statement that "Yong's resignation is not the end of cleaning up this personnel disaster — it is only the beginning," adding that "next in line is Justice Ministry nominee Kim Seung-won, who stands at the apex of an unprecedented web of entrenched privilege and illegal conduct allegations."

The PPP also argued that allowing only Yong's withdrawal to resolve the situation was a classic case of cutting off the tail to save the body, and called on President Lee to "take the public's warning seriously even now, immediately withdraw Kim Seung-won's nomination, and carry out appointments that meet the common sense and standards of the people."

Meanwhile, the National Assembly is set to begin its confirmation hearings this week, starting with Supreme Court Justice nominee Kim Seong-su on Monday.

Hearings for Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs nominee Lee Hyeong-il, Justice Ministry nominee Kim Seung-won and Ministry of SMEs and Startups nominee Lee So-young are scheduled for Tuesday. Hearings for Ministry of National Defense nominee Kang Sin-cheol and Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport nominee Hong Ji-seon follow on Wednesday, and Special Inspector nominee Choi Gil-su is set for Thursday — meaning the standoff between the ruling and opposition parties is expected to continue throughout the week.