Fisheries Minister nominee Park Jun-young resigned amid allegations of ethical lapses.

In a statement on Thursday, Park said he sincerely expressed his apologies and gave a detailed explanation in regard to the allegations at his parliamentary confirmation hearing.

Park then apologized once again and said that despite his explanations he could not deny that he had failed to meet the public's high ethical standards as a nominee for a public post.

The former nominee added that he felt that he must not burden the president nor negatively impact state tasks put forth by the Fisheries Ministry.

Park's wife has been accused of evading customs duty while bringing in high-end porcelain from Britain and then selling them illegally.