Yu’s reported assets total W14 billion (US$1=W937), the largest among the minister designates. He was being grilled by lawmakers about his wealth during his National Assembly confirmation hearing. But Sohn’s question and Yu’s answer are baffling. First of all, it would be very difficult for a minister designate to flatly say “no” when asked if he was willing to donate money to social causes. The lawmaker was virtually twisting Yu’s arm to donate money.

A confirmation hearing is a place to determine whether a candidate has the ability and proper sense of ethics to handle the position he is seeking. If a candidate is rich, the questioning should focus on whether there was any wrongdoing or tax evasion during the process of amassing that wealth. Yu said during his 35 years as an actor he diligently saved money and never missed his tax payments. If a law-abiding person is pressured to donate money simply because he or she is wealthy, it is the same as ordering a rich person to pay to become a minister.

Yu’s response to the lawmaker’s question may give the impression that he had caved in to a very dangerous way of thinking, that it is a shame to be wealthy and that he may have offered to donate his wealth because he had something to be ashamed of. It is true that certain people believe it is impossible to get rich in Korea unless you skirt around regulations. But it is embarrassing for a National Assembly confirmation hearing to be affected by such a way of thinking.

It is damaging on both a personal level and for the development of a free market economy in Korea for lawmakers to pressure minister-designates to appeal to the animosity felt by ordinary citizens toward rich people. The question that was made during the culture and tourism minister’s confirmation hearing symbolized not only the maturity of our politics, but just how distorted social perceptions are toward wealth.