Candidate’s Silence on Arrival Sparks Press Criticism

Yong Hye-in arrived at the office preparing for her confirmation hearing and faced a barrage of questions about controversies surrounding her nomination. She offered almost no response.

Reporters asked the nominee about allegations involving her past remarks and conduct, including her reported role as the first proposer of a silent Sewol ferry protest and why she had allegedly tolerated sexist instructions from an underground organization. They also asked whether her position on holding both a parliamentary seat and another role had changed.

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I will speak at the hearing.

Yong kept her eyes forward and walked toward the elevator without answering. When reporters pressed her to explain, she said only, “I will speak at the hearing.”

After she entered the elevator, reporters continued criticizing her silence, with one questioning whether refusing to answer resembled the privileged behavior she had criticized in the past.

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Isn’t this the same as the behavior of the privileged?