Safety Minister nominee Park In-yong is expected to face a tough parliamentary confirmation hearing Thursday, with questions likely to focus on his competence in disaster management and his alleged financial misdeeds.

Last month, President Park Geun-hye appointed the former Navy admiral to head the new Ministry of Public Safety and Security, which will act as the country’s emergency control tower.

Park’s nomination raised mixed reactions at the National Assembly. The ruling Saenuri Party said Park’s leadership would help the ministry achieve its goals of crisis management, but the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy lambasted the move and pointed out that administrative abilities, not military experience, were needed for the job.

The opposition lawmakers also argued that being a former military commander may limit his ability to react quickly and communicate with civilian staff, as military personnel are required to follow orders without question.

The creation of the new ministry dealing exclusively with public safety is part of the government’s reform plan that was announced as a response to a series of accidents, including a fatal ferry sinking in April. Over 300 were dead or missing in one of the country’s worst-ever maritime accidents, and the government’s initial response was blamed for the heavy death toll.

The NPAD will also grill Park on allegations that he illegally received income tax deductions last year and falsified the contract during a real estate deal in 2002 to evade tax.

Park on Saturday admitted to the false contract, but claimed he did it by accident.

“At the time I had no specific knowledge of the deal and entrusted the entire transaction to my real estate agent. I feel sorry for failing to look into the details, and I promise to pay closer attention from now on,” he said.

Officials from the Safety Ministry claimed that last year’s income tax deduction had also resulted from simple blunder, and that Park had paid the taxes after his nomination.

But Rep. Jin Sun-mee of the NPAD voiced her disbelief of the ministry’s explanation.

“It’s a process Park had done every single year during his 34 years as a public official, which makes it hard for me to believe that it was a mistake,” she said.

At Thursday’s hearing, former vice chairman of the Fair Trade Commission Jeong Jae-chan ― who was tapped by President Park to head the FTC ― will also face questions from the lawmakers.

Unlike Park, Jeong is not facing a slew of accusations and observers are expecting his hearing to go relatively smoothly. He also has the advantage of having extensive knowledge of the FTC, as he worked at there for 23 years.

Lawmakers from the NPAD said there were no major issues hindering Jeong’s nomination as of now, but vowed to thoroughly scrutinize his ability as the commission’s head.

By Yoon Min-sik (minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)