Culture minister-designate pledges to end religious bias

Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister-designate Choung Byoung-gug said Monday that he will end perceived notions of the government’s religious bias.

At his parliamentary confirmation hearing, he said, “The government and the ruling party have lacked sincerity in their awareness of traditional culture. I admit they made people think they had a religious bias. I will correct this immediately by communicating with the Buddhist circle.”

“If confirmed as minister, I will set guidelines for civil servants to prevent any recurrence of religious bias.”

On the omission of spending on Buddhist temple stay programs in the budget bill by the ruling Grand National Party last year, Choung said, “I feel deeply responsible as chairman of the parliamentary committee for culture, sports, tourism, broadcasting and communications for not having handled this matter properly.”

On the incumbent Culture Minister Yoo In-chon’s dismissal of Arts Council Korea Chairman Kim Jeong-heon and National Museum of Contemporary Art Director Kim Yoon-soo, Choung called it “improper.”

“There were dismissed due to violation of regulations on operating performance (poor performance) but this was found to be groundless after a legal examination. If I’m accepted as minister, I will investigate from ground zero why this happened.”

At the hearing, ruling party members focused on verifying Choung’s ability as minister. Those from the opposition including the main opposition Democratic Party questioned his alleged abuse of real-name real estate transactions, illegal use of farmland, and allocating budget for a special arts zone around the Namhan River.

jin0619@donga.com