Lee Yong-cheol, nominee for justice minister, to report for duty Thursday — denies Daejang-dong allegations

Confirmation hearing preparation office set up in Munjeong-dong legal district

Cha Beom-jun to lead prep team; nominee defers on charges-withdrawal controversy

Lee Yong-cheol, head of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, answers lawmakers' questions during a national audit of the agency by the National Assembly's National Defense Committee last month. President Lee Jae Myung nominated Lee Yong-cheol as justice minister candidate on Friday, Presidential Chief of Staff Im Gwang-hyeon announced at a briefing. [Lee Sang-seop]

Lee Yong-cheol, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration chief nominated as the new justice minister, is set to begin work at the confirmation hearing preparation office on Thursday, kicking off formal preparations for his parliamentary hearing. He has denied allegations of involvement in the Daejang-dong development corruption scandal, saying he knows nothing about the case "then or now."

According to the confirmation hearing preparation team, Lee is scheduled to report Thursday for the first time at the team's office on the seventh floor of a building in the Munjeong-dong legal district of Songpa-gu, Seoul.

The office is housed in a newly built facility for the Seoul Immigration and Foreign Residents Office, which opened Oct. 30.

Until Thursday, Lee will continue working at DAPA while simultaneously preparing for the hearing. Lee is expected to make brief remarks to reporters on the first day, sharing thoughts on the nomination.

Cha Beom-jun, the Ministry of Justice's planning and coordination chief, will head the preparation team.

Seo Gyeong-won, head of the policy planning division, will serve as overall coordinator, while Ministry of Justice spokesperson Choi Tae-eun will lead the public affairs team. The preparation team also includes units handling personal background review, question-and-answer preparation and administrative support.

Meanwhile, Lee denied the Daejang-dong corruption allegations in a phone call with Yonhap. "I know nothing about Daejang-dong — not then, not now," Lee said.

Asked about criticism from some quarters that the nomination was made with an eye toward withdrawing the indictment against President Lee Jae Myung, Lee said a position would be shared at a later date.

sjy@heraldcorp.com