Ruling and Opposition Parties Agree to Adopt Confirmation Hearing Report for Finance Minister Nominee Lee Hyungil

On September 17, the confirmation hearing report for Hyungil Lee, nominee for Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister of Finance and Economy, was adopted by bipartisan agreement.

Hyungil Lee, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy nominee, is responding to legislators' questions at the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on September 15, 2026. Photo by Dongju Yoon

The National Assembly’s Planning and Finance Committee held a plenary session on this day and passed the motion to adopt the confirmation report for the nominee.

At the confirmation hearing held the previous day, questions were raised about Lee’s “non-resident single-home ownership.” It was pointed out that while the price of an apartment he owned in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, has risen from 420 million won at the time of purchase in 2009 to around 2 billion won currently for similar units in the area, he has only actually resided there for four months.

There was also debate surrounding the Future Response Fund, which the government introduced along with this year’s budget plan. The opposition criticized the fund, calling it a “government slush fund,” “money without any checks or balances,” and a “fund for destroying the future,” while the ruling party defended it as a “fiscal stabilization mechanism.”

Regarding this controversy, Lee stated, “I am sorry for causing public concern over my non-resident issue,” and added, “I have owned just one home all my life and intended to live there for a long time, but the circumstances were difficult.”

Bae Junyoung, People Power Party secretary on the Planning and Finance Committee, commented regarding the adoption of Lee’s confirmation report, “The issues and concerns raised have not been fully resolved,” but added, “there is agreement on the need for a control tower with the responsibility of quickly restoring the livelihoods and economy of the people in distress.”

Meanwhile, the report adopted on this day will be reported at the plenary session and then immediately forwarded to the President, who will refer to the contents of the report when deciding on the nominee’s appointment.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.