Details of oceans minister nominee Kang Do-hyung’s past drunk driving and assault cases were revealed during his confirmation hearing on Tuesday. 

Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee Chair So Byung-hoon said at the hearing that he had looked through the data on Kang's cases. 

The committee chair said it confirmed that Kang was hung over from the previous day and that the assault case did not involve serious violence, citing that the incident had left the victim with brush burn. 

Kang was slapped with a fine of one-a-half million won for drunk driving back in 2004 and was fined 300-thousand won in 1999 for assault. 

The nominee said that the DUI case occurred when he was a grad student at the age of 33 and was on his way to school. He added that he got his driver’s license revoked due to the incident and had to get a license a year later. 

Regarding the 1999 assault case, Kang said he had stopped a vehicle with his car after the vehicle made a threatening move, adding that he had argued with the driver and ended up grabbing the driver by the collar after he refused to apologize. He said he, too, had suffered brush burn from the conflict. 

Kang issued an apology to the public for doing something he shouldn’t have done when he was a young adult.