President Lee Jae-myung withdraws from his candidacy 14 days after being nominated.
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Yong Hye-in, candidate for Minister of Gender Equality and Family, voluntarily resigned from her position 14 days after being nominated.
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Yong Hye-in, candidate for Minister of Gender Equality and Family, voluntarily resigned from her candidacy on the 13th.
It has been 14 days since President Lee Jae-myung nominated her as a candidate for Minister of Gender Equality.
Candidate Yong held an emergency press conference at the National Assembly Communication Hall on this day and announced his intention to resign from his candidacy, saying, "As a candidate for the Minister of Gender Equality under the Lee Jae-myung administration, I am determined to create a gender-equal society for all, and as of today, I intend to step down as a candidate for the Minister."

Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon held a press conference at the National Assembly on the 13th to directly refute the ruling party's claim of a 'targeted investigation' regarding Justice Minister candidate Kim Seung-won and strongly stood against the Democratic Party and the ruling party's offensive.

As Yong Hye-in, a candidate for Minister of Gender Equality and Family, resigned from her candidacy due to controversy over concurrent positions, the existence of the semi-mixed proportional representation system, which served as the basis for her election through proportional representation in the 21st and 22nd general elections, is being discussed again. Amid criticism of the two major parties' use of satellite parties, the need for system reform is emerging, with the People Power Party calling for a complete abolition and the Democratic Party showing a reserved attitude. The Constitutional Court's decision to unconstitutional the 3% blocking clause is also expected to act as a variable.

With Yong Hye-in, candidate for Minister of Gender Equality and Family, voluntarily resigning, the Democratic Party has relieved its burden, and is now putting all its efforts into protecting its candidate for Minister of Justice, Kim Seung-won. Although there are more opposing opinions on Candidate Kim in public opinion polls, the Democratic Party maintains its position that there are no legal problems and sees him as a key figure in prosecution reform.

The People Power Party defined Kim Seung-won, the candidate for Minister of Justice, as 'the motherland of 2026', criticized him as a contractor to cancel indictments to protect the president's judicial risks, and demanded the withdrawal of his nomination. Senior Spokesperson Choi Bo-yoon and Senior Floor Spokesperson Choi Eun-seok linked Candidate Kim's suspicions to the case of former Minister Cho Kuk, while Rep. Na Kyung-won defined the Democratic Party as a criminal community and criticized it for turning the hearing into a vending machine for indulgences.

With Yong Hye-in, candidate for Minister of Gender Equality and Family, voluntarily resigning, the personnel hearing battles between the ruling and opposition parties were compressed into a single front surrounding Kim Seung-won, candidate for Minister of Justice. The Democratic Party of Korea launched a desperate fight to defend candidate Kim, and the People Power Party announced an all-out offensive aimed at knocking candidate Kim out of office.

The burden on President Lee Jae-myung has eased somewhat with the voluntary resignation of Minister of Gender Equality and Family Minister Yong Hye-in, but the aftermath of the personnel controversy is expected to have an impact on future state administration. The Blue House announced that it respects the candidate's decision and will strengthen the personnel verification system in the future.