Kim Hyun-ji and Kim Yong-beom Not Selected as Witnesses for Parliamentary Audit; Clash Over Presidential Couple’s Appearance

[Financial News] On the 21st, ahead of the audit of the Presidential Office, the National Assembly’s House Steering Committee selected witnesses representing government agencies, led by the ruling bloc. The Democratic Party of Korea’s opposition blocked the selection of general witnesses requested by the People Power Party, including Kim Hyun-ji, chief of the Presidential Office’s First Deputy Office, and former Policy Office chief Kim Yong-beom.
At its full committee meeting that day, the House Steering Committee approved the motion to select witnesses for the parliamentary audit, with 20 voting in favor and five against among the 25 members present. Those selected as witnesses included Lim Kwang-hyun, Chief of Staff to the President; Ha Jun-kyung, head of the Policy Office; Hong Ik-pyo, senior secretary for political affairs; and Wi Sung-lac, chief of the National Security Office.
The People Power Party argued that Kim Hyun-ji, former Policy Office chief Kim Yong-beom, former chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik and others should be called as general witnesses to examine allegations of so-called “Gyeonggi-Seongnam line intervention in personnel appointments” and the process of introducing single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The Democratic Party, by contrast, opposed the move, saying the opposition was stoking political strife by putting forward unverified allegations.
The ruling and opposition parties also clashed over whether President Lee Jae-myung and First Lady Kim Hye-kyung should appear as witnesses. People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Yong-geun raised the issue of the presidential residence and claimed, “The only people who know what is really going on are President Lee and Mrs. Kim.” House Steering Committee Chairman Han Byeong-do pushed back, asking, “Are you now proposing that the president and first lady be selected as witnesses?” and saying, “You must not make such an absurd argument.” Shouts were exchanged among lawmakers from both parties.
The dispute over remarks by figures from opposing camps continued. Democratic Party lawmaker Cheon Jun-ho took issue with People Power Party lawmaker Kim Tae-gyu’s remark that “Chun Doo-hwan and Yoon Suk Yeol did not commit insurrection,” and called for him to resign from his party post and step down from the House Steering Committee. People Power Party lawmaker Kim Min-jeon countered by bringing up remarks by Gyeonggi Governor Choo Mi-ae and Democratic Party lawmakers.
Meanwhile, the House Steering Committee revised the parliamentary audit schedule by agreement between the ruling and opposition parties. On the 29th of this month, it will audit the National Human Rights Commission in the morning, followed in the afternoon by the Presidential Secretariat, the National Security Office and the Presidential Security Service. On the 30th, it will audit National Assembly institutions, including the National Assembly Secretariat and the National Assembly Library.

[email protected] Kim Kyung-min Reporter