"Is This Political Retaliation?" Lee Eon-ju, Left Off Standing Committee Chair List, Slams the Democratic Party

[Financial News] Lee Eon-ju, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), strongly protested after being excluded from the National Assembly's Standing Committee Chair assignments, asking, "Is this political retaliation?" As the DPK selected 11 Standing Committee Chairs under its leadership, Lee had expressed interest in taking the chair of the Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee.

On the 3rd, Lee said on Facebook, "I felt like they finished dividing up the Standing Committee Chairs while leaving me out, even though I have never chaired one before."
Lee said, "A Standing Committee Chair is a National Assembly post, a senior public office, isn't it? These days, even a neighborhood club causes an uproar if positions are divided without reasonable standards. If that is true for a Standing Committee Chair, which is funded by taxpayers' money, uses large amounts of state funds for travel expenses and other costs, and comes with various powers, then it is minister-level, even if there is no confirmation hearing."
She continued, "The National Assembly is a public workplace, not a social club, so positions should be allocated responsibly and strictly according to public standards, without embarrassing the public." She explained, "Until now, Standing Committee Chairs have been distributed in the order of three-term lawmakers or more, one turn each, consideration of expertise, and preference for women. When there was competition, we even held primaries from time to time."
She also stressed that she met those conditions.

Lee said, "I am an investment lawyer and came from the business sector. During the South Korean presidential election, I created an economic growth strategy report as chair of the committee directly under the candidate, and I have continued to serve as senior vice chair of the party's AI Power Nation Committee." She added, "I applied for the chairmanships of the Industry, Trade, and Energy Committee and the Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee, which are so-called economic and industrial posts, and I believed I was qualified for at least one of them."

She also raised her criticism of the parliamentary leadership.

Lee said, "The parliamentary leadership said it would consult with me, but there was no real consultation, and I was left out of the final list." She added, "I was pushed aside in the first half of the year as well, so I ran for Supreme Council member and let it go then. This time, there were people serving a second or third term, so I asked what the reasonable basis was and what the standards were, but there was no answer."

She criticized the process, saying, "I felt like they finished dividing up the Standing Committee Chairs while leaving out someone like me, who has never chaired one before. In this day and age, where is there such an irrational organization?"

Lee said, "There are posts circulating online that feel like people are snickering and mocking others in some kind of anti-others community, and it is truly childish." She added, "That does not mean I will leave the party again. If they want to kick me out, let them. I will not leave on my own. I came back prepared for that."
She went on to say, "There are now many more party members and supporters in the Democratic Party who share my views. Still, am I not the leading new figure in the Democratic Party representing the center-right?" She added, "From shaving my head during the Cho Kuk scandal to now, I have consistently said we should cross the river of Cho Kuk, the symbol of double standards and hypocrisy. Now, many awakened party members say I was right and are standing with me, and I find great comfort and hope in that."

newssu@fnnews.com Kim Soo-yeon Reporter