Criticism continues that the Democratic Party of Korea is privatizing the National Assembly’s oversight function, the national audit. The national audit is said to have degenerated into a venue for lawmakers’ personal venting, demands for apologies, resolving local constituency issues, and clarifying family matters. Experts stated, “As politics has become entertained (showbiz-like), the basic norms that were previously accepted in the National Assembly have collapsed.”
The National Assembly describes the national audit as “correcting wrong parts of state affairs through legislative oversight.” However, in the first national audit under the Lee Jae-myung government, which began on the 13th of last month, some lawmakers used questioning time to address personal issues. A representative example is lawmakers summoning witnesses and pressuring them to apologize to them.
On the 21st, during the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office audit at the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee, Democratic Party Rep. Lee Sung-yoon demanded that Song Kang, the former chief prosecutor of the Gwangju High Prosecutors’ Office who indicted him in the ‘illegal departure ban case’ involving former Vice Justice Minister Kim Hak-ui, apologize by saying, “Even now, ‘the prosecution’s investigation was wrong.’” This was a personal apology demand made to Song, who was in the investigation command line at the time, during the national audit. Song responded, “I have no intention of evading responsibility.”
Earlier, on the 16th, during the Board of Audit and Inspection audit, Democratic Party Rep. Jeon Hyun-heui questioned Choe Jae-hae, the head of the Board of Audit and Inspection, asking, “Do you have no intention of apologizing to me, or should you apologize?” Rep. Jeon stated this while saying, “Regarding the audit related to me (during my tenure as head of the Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights Commission), the Board of Audit and Inspection handled everything as no charges or non-prosecution.” In response, audit committee member Yoo Byung-ho refuted, “It is difficult if you make statements that differ from the facts.”
During the SIBCC audit, controversy arose over ‘venting-based sanctions.’ Democratic Party SIBCC Chairperson Choi Min-hee ejected MBC News Director Park Jang-ho during a closed-door audit, citing past coverage about her. When opposition lawmakers continued questioning regarding her daughter’s wedding held at the National Assembly during the audit period, Chairperson Choi explained, “I was too busy studying quantum mechanics to pay attention.”
Hanyang University Professor Kim Sung-soo stated, “It is inevitable to improve the national audit system, such as having the ruling and opposition parties take turns as standing committee chairpersons each quarter or discussing witness adoption in a deliberative body composed of external figures to the National Assembly.”
◇“Criticize me? Eject!” “I was prosecuted because of you”… National audit becomes a personal venting ground
Currently, out of the 17 National Assembly standing committees, the Democratic Party holds the chairpersonship in 10. In the remaining committees, the Democratic Party, based on its majority seats (166 seats), is involved in all aspects of proceeding with the national audit. Due to this structural reason, the ‘privatization of the national audit’ is led by Democratic Party lawmakers. In political circles, there are talks that “standing committee chairpersons, who have the authority to proceed with sessions, are taking the lead in privatizing the national audit.”
In practice, Democratic Party Legislation and Judiciary Committee Chairperson Choo Mi-ae sparked controversy by adding Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) President Kim Dong-cheol as a witness during the Board of Audit and Inspection audit. She aimed to question the background of installing a high-voltage converter at the Dong Seoul Substation in Gamildong, Hanam City, Gyeonggi Province, her constituency. While it is natural for lawmakers to be active in addressing local constituency issues, summoning a witness not under the jurisdiction of their standing committee is unusual. The People Power Party criticized, “Summoning KEPCO’s president, a supervised entity of the Industry, Energy, Trade, Resources, and SMEs Committee, to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee is for resolving local constituency issues.” Ultimately, President Kim also did not attend the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, stating he had to attend another standing committee (Climate, Environment, and Labor Committee) on the same day.
The aftermath of Democratic Party SIBCC Chairperson Choi Min-hee unilaterally ejecting the MBC News Director during the audit continues. Regarding this, the MBC Journalists Association issued a statement criticizing, “The act of a National Assembly standing committee chairperson ordering the ejection of a broadcasting-related executive during a public broadcaster’s business report is a threat to press freedom beyond clear impropriety.” In response, Chairperson Choi wrote on Facebook on the 22nd, “Can the MBC News Director not even withstand a ‘single sentence’ critique during a closed-door audit?” She added, “Is the MBC News Director still a privileged and untouchable position?” and “How can you talk about press freedom without even criticizing the People Power Party’s behavior?” Shortly after, the Korean Journalists Association demanded an official apology from Chairperson Choi.
In some standing committees, there are criticisms that even some People Power Party lawmakers are joining the Democratic Party-led ‘privatization of the national audit.’ On the 13th, during the Land, Infrastructure, and Transport Committee audit, People Power Party Rep. Kim Do-eup questioned Hyundai Engineering & Construction’s representative, asking, “Does Hyundai Engineering & Construction, which did not participate in the site development work, bear no responsibility for the Gadokdo New Airport construction being delayed for over a year?” Fellow party member Rep. Kim Hee-jung also asked the representative, “How exactly do you plan to take responsibility?” Both are lawmakers from Busan, the site of the planned Gadokdo New Airport.
During the SIBCC audit on the 14th, a private dispute between ruling and opposition lawmakers occurred. The trigger was Democratic Party Rep. Kim Woo-young’s disclosure that last month, People Power Party Rep. Park Jeong-hoon sent him a text message saying, “Ugh, you pathetic guy!” In the process of protesting the exposure of his phone number, Rep. Park referred to Rep. Kim as a “pitiful XX.” This scene was broadcast live. It was reported that during the closed-door session, the two lawmakers exchanged explicit criticisms like “a fistfight” and “I’ll beat you.”
Experts pointed out, “The privatization of the national audit is particularly prominent in this audit, the first held since the inauguration of the Lee Jae-myung government.” Yeungnam University Professor Kim Young-soo stated, “This is related to politics becoming entertained based on the fandom of strong supporter bases,” adding, “As the majority of the public is disinterested in politics, and politicians only respond to the demands of the minority strong supporters, the public significance of the national audit is disappearing.” Seoul National University Professor Kim Beom-su, president of the Korean Political Science Association, said, “Whether ruling or opposition, the dignity of the National Assembly has disappeared,” and “If the original function of the national audit—monitoring and criticism—fades, the damage will ultimately fall on the people.”
Some in political circles are even raising the ‘uselessness of the national audit’ theory. Former Democratic Party Rep. Geum Tae-seop said on BBS Radio on the 20th, “(The audit videos) really have a bad influence on children,” adding, “There are talks about abolishing the audit system.” Reform Party Rep. Chun Ha-ram also stated, “While we cannot completely eliminate the audit, it is time to consider institutional improvements like dispersing the number of sessions.” A National Assembly aide said, “At some point, individual lawmakers’ ‘showmanship’ has become more of a topic than policy questioning during audits,” and “Watching lawmakers who cannot distinguish between public and private affairs makes me feel hollow, thinking, ‘Do they really have to be like that?’”