Lawmakers sling mud at rivals as Assembly's annual gov't roast begins

Lawmakers from rival parties kicked off the annual four-week-long parliamentary audit of state agencies on Monday by grilling government officials with questions aimed at their political opponents.

Chun Dae-yup, minister of the National Court Administration, speaks before lawmakers on the Legislation and Judiciary Committee at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Monday. [KANG JEONG-HYUN]

Lawmakers from rival parties kicked off the annual four-week-long parliamentary audit of state agencies on Monday by grilling government officials with questions aimed at their political opponents.

Ten of the National Assembly’s 17 standing committees, including the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee and the Public Administration and Security Committee, summoned officials for grilling over their management of central and regional government departments under their purview.

Allegations against first lady Kim Keon Hee took center stage at the hearing of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, where the Chun Dae-yup, minister of the National Court Administration, acknowledged that Kim’s alleged interference into People Power Party (PPP) nominations, if found to be true, should be considered “inappropriate” upon questioning by DP Rep. Kim Yong-min.

The DP has been adamant about setting up a special counsel probe to examine various allegations against the first lady, including her alleged role in a stock price manipulation scheme and the selection of PPP candidates before the April general election, as well as her acceptance of a luxury handbag from a Korean American pastor.

But that probe, as well as another to examine the military’s handling of a young Marine corporal’s death, have both been vetoed multiple times by President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Regarding Yoon’s repeated use of vetoes to block legislation passed by the DP-controlled Assembly, Chun told members of the committee that “significant academic debate exists over the existence of constitutional constraints to using the presidential veto,” but added that “all powers of the state should be wielded appropriately, whether they belong to the executive, legislative or judicial branches of the government.”

Chun’s comment appeared to walk a tightrope between the DP, which has accused the president of abusing his veto power by rejecting 24 bills since taking office in May 2022, and the Cabinet and government-aligned PPP, which have criticized the DP for repeatedly railroading previously vetoed legislation through the National Assembly.

In response to a question from PPP Rep. Kwak Kyu-taek regarding why no rulings have yet been issued in any of the criminal cases where DP leader Lee Jae-myung is implicated, Chun said the causes were for the judiciary and judges to address but noted that he feels “deeply sorry” for the delay.

While prosecutors have charged Lee with committing graft, bribery, abuse of power and subornation during his tenure as mayor of Seongnam and later as governor of Gyeonggi, Lee has accused prosecutors of carrying out a politically motivated investigation to ruin his reputation.

Regarding criticism from DP lawmakers that the country’s courts approve an excessive number of search and seizure warrants requested by prosecutors, Chun said such warrants are “inevitably issued in crimes involving multiple victims, such as voice phishing.”

He also noted that if such crimes are excluded, the warrant approval rate had actually decreased from 89.6 percent in 2013 to 84.1 percent last year.

Chun also defended the judiciary’s ability to resolve cases in a timely manner, arguing that the number of long-term cases on the court system’s docket have been “drastically reduced” compared to the same period last year.

Lee Jin-sook, the impeached chair of the Korea Communications Commission, speaks before the Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting and Communications Committee at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Monday. [NEWS1]

Partisan rancor was also on full display during the audit hearing held by the Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting and Communications Committee, where the currently impeached chairperson of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC), Lee Jin-sook, faced off questions from DP members over her recent questions.

Unlike her predecessors, who stepped down before they could be impeached, Lee refused to resign and attempted to appoint directors to the boards of public broadcasters KBS and MBC before her suspension.

At the audit, Lee told DP committee members that she would “rather be able to work” and said she accused their party and “other left-wing groups” of being “capable of doing unimaginable deeds” to defend herself.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]