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Minister of Foreign Affairs nominee Kang Kyung-wha is sworn in at a National Assembly confirmation hearing on June 7. (by Kang Chang-kwang

Minister of Foreign Affairs nominee Kang Kyung-wha apologized for her child’s falsified resident registration at a National Assembly confirmation hearing on June 7, saying the move showed a “severe lack of judgment as a public official.” She explained that she had falsified the registration at her own former teacher‘s suggestion in July 2000 because she was concerned about her daughter’s return home after failing to adapt to school life in the US, and thought her daughter might have an easier time adapting if she were admitted to Kang’s alma mater, Ewha Girls’ High School. Whatever the reason was, it was a mistake. Not only that, but the registered residence was an apartment managed by the high school, suggesting various other people besides Kang used it for falsified registrations. This seems like a glimpse inside the workings of South Korea’s upper echelons and the benefits they enjoy based on who they know. The fact that Kang maintained at first that it was a relative’s house, and only changed her story after media reports came out, also leaves a sour taste. That said, the rest of the allegations raised in the past - the claims of evading income tax on a townhouse in Seoul‘s Bongcheon neighborhood, plagiarism on her doctoral dissertation, and real estate speculation - appear to have been cleared up for the most part with the hearing.

Based on what came out at the hearing, it doesn’t seem like the falsified residential registration is a fatal blemish that will prevent Kang from performing duties as Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Three consecutive UN Secretaries-General - Kofi Annan, Ban Ki-moon, and Antonio Guterres - all named Kang to important positions at the UN. That says a lot about how she has conducted her duties and what her reputation is like at the UN. Her expertise in human rights issues - a universal human value - from working at the UN Commission on Human Rights is especially laudable. There‘s also the symbolism of her being South Korea’s first-ever female nominee as Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The claims that Kang lacks experience on issues like the North Korean nuclear issue and THAAD and in relations with Washington and Beijing are worth taking note of. The opposition has expressed concerns that the Blue House is getting too free a hand. But when it comes to foreign relations with the US, China, Japan and Russia, there’s obviously going to be coordination with the Blue House. We should also take a look back on just how good a job the veteran US-centered foreign policy bureaucrats did at serving the national interest when they served in chief diplomatic positions in the past. Picking someone from outside the traditional framework may be a better choice for the sake of reforms at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs too.

There have been strong objections from the opposition to adoption of a hearing report for Kim Sang-jo, the nominee to head the Fair Trade Commission. Adoption of that report could become contingent on Kang bowing out. This sort of political transaction over the outcome of a confirmation hearing is an example of the old school. A better approach would be to resolve the confirmation issue by seeing the appointment of a female Minister of Foreign Affairs as a historic moment in South Korean diplomatic history.

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