April 27, 2024
Economy
SME minister nominee offers to step down
[THE INVESTOR] The nominee tapped to head the newly created Ministry of SMEs and Startups offered to step down on Sept. 15 after his controversial views on religion and history came under attack.
Park Seong-jin, an engineering professor at the Pohang University of Science and Technology, was nominated last month to lead the ministry designed to help SMEs and venture companies, but his belief in creationism and his historical views sparked debates over his qualifications.
One of the disputed remarks was that South Korea was founded in 1948, a view strongly advocated by the ousted former leader Park Geun-hye and the country’s conservatives.
President Moon Jae-in and liberals have insisted the national foundation dates should be pushed back to 1919, when the country’s provisional government was established in Shanghai during Japan’s colonial rule.
The 48-year-old was also attacked over his past activity as a member of the Korea Association for Creation Research, an entity that some argue denies the theory of evolution and specializes in creation science.
By Alex Lee and newswires (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)
Park Seong-jin, an engineering professor at the Pohang University of Science and Technology, was nominated last month to lead the ministry designed to help SMEs and venture companies, but his belief in creationism and his historical views sparked debates over his qualifications.
One of the disputed remarks was that South Korea was founded in 1948, a view strongly advocated by the ousted former leader Park Geun-hye and the country’s conservatives.
President Moon Jae-in and liberals have insisted the national foundation dates should be pushed back to 1919, when the country’s provisional government was established in Shanghai during Japan’s colonial rule.
The 48-year-old was also attacked over his past activity as a member of the Korea Association for Creation Research, an entity that some argue denies the theory of evolution and specializes in creation science.
By Alex Lee and newswires (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)
