The nominee tapped to head the newly created Ministry of SMEs and Startups offered to step down Friday after questions were raised about his qualifications, and his controversial views on religion and history took flak from lawmakers.

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 small enterprises and venture companies, but his belief in creationism and his historical views sparked heated debate with many calling for him to not seek office.

Park was grilled by ruling and opposition parties over his qualifications Monday, leading to a parliamentary committee calling him "unfit" in a report.
 

His appointment does not require parliamentary approval, but disapproval often imposes a political burden on the president and the nominee.

"It was hard for me to accept the parliament's decision over my lack of qualifications, especially since I devoted most of my time to explaining my vision for the job and my personal religious beliefs during the hearing," Park said in a statement. "But I decided to step down voluntarily out of respect for the National Assembly's decision."

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. He resigned from a senior post at the association two days after his nomination. (Yonhap)