President Lee Jae Myung has expressed disappointment that Planning and Budget Minister nominee Lee Hye-hoon has yet to be given an opportunity to explain herself as she faces bullying allegations, questions over her family’s real estate dealings and other controversies.

At his New Year’s press conference on Wednesday, the president said he had wanted to decide on her appointment after considering the public’s response to the hearing, and that he has not reached a final decision.

A confirmation hearing for Lee Hye-hoon was scheduled for Monday but could not take place in the absence of common ground between the ruling and opposition parties.

The president recognized the problems and concerns about the allegations the nominee faces, but said it would be fair to give her the chance to explain herself.

After Wednesday, the legal deadline for the confirmation hearing, the president can either make a second request for a parliamentary hearing report within ten days or push to appoint the nominee without parliamentary consent.

The president rebutted criticism over the vetting process and accused the conservative opposition of attacking the administration with previously undisclosed information about the conservative former lawmaker, despite granting her party candidacy five times in the past.

He said he was also unprepared for the strong resistance within the ruling party to the idea of nominating a conservative figure to a key Cabinet post, and he asked the public for some tolerance for the administration’s efforts to achieve national unity.