Yun Hojung, Chairman of the National Assembly Judiciary Committee, "For current issue inquiries, consultation between ruling and opposition party secretaries and approval by the plenary session are priorities"
"If Yoon Seokyeol attends, the National Assembly will be restoring 'duty suspension'"
[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] Yoon Ho-jung, Chairman of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, rebutted the opposition party's claim that he was obstructing Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol's appearance before the National Assembly, stating, "The opposition party simply did not follow the procedures." He also requested the replacement of Kim Do-eup, the opposition party's secretary of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee.
On the morning of the 26th, after a protest visit by members of the People Power Party belonging to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, Chairman Yoon held a press conference and said, "I felt extremely displeased with Secretary Kim, who unilaterally submitted a request to convene a meeting without prior consultation with the secretaries and insisted that the ruling party and the chairman must comply unconditionally. I earnestly ask the floor leader of the People Power Party to carefully consider this and replace Secretary Kim. This is an official request."
Chairman Yoon emphasized that he did not unjustly block Prosecutor General Yoon's appearance or the emergency issue questioning by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee.
He explained, "At yesterday's Legislation and Judiciary Committee meeting, I asked for consultation between the secretaries regarding the emergency issue questioning and declared adjournment around 10:30 AM. I said it could be held tomorrow or the day after tomorrow," adding, "Then, without any consultation between the secretaries, a request to convene the meeting was submitted around 11 AM."
He continued, "I called at 2 PM but received no answer, and again at 4 PM with no response. Meanwhile, the opposition claimed that the chairman did not notify the institution after receiving the request to convene the meeting," and raised his voice, saying, "They say all day that the appearance of Prosecutor General Yoon was blocked because procedures were not followed, but there was no need to block it. The meeting could not be held because the procedures were not followed, so what is being blocked?"
He further explained, "Article 48 states that the chairman sets the date and time of the committee meeting in consultation with the secretaries," and "Article 121, Paragraph 2 states that the committee can request the attendance of the Prime Minister or government officials by resolution." He added, "Without a resolution, attendance cannot be compelled. Just inserting a line or two about Prosecutor General Yoon's attendance in the request to convene the meeting does not mean he can be compelled to appear."
Chairman Yoon also demanded the replacement of Secretary Kim. He said, "Due to this incident, I have no choice but to express great regret regarding Secretary Kim. He arbitrarily interpreted the National Assembly Act and launched a political attack claiming that the chairman blocked Prosecutor General Yoon's appearance," adding, "I hope the legal experts of the People Power Party read the National Assembly Act once and control Secretary Kim within their party when he distorts or misinterprets the law."
He also said, "I want to tell the staff assisting Secretary Kim to properly support him," and added, "The U.S. Congress has a qualification exam system for legislative aides, and I think we should introduce that in our country as well." He reiterated, "What kind of secretary is one who acts without consultation with other secretaries? If the secretary does not perform his role properly, he should be replaced."
In response to the question, "If the Legislation and Judiciary Committee requests Prosecutor General Yoon's appearance, wouldn't there be no conflict between the ruling and opposition parties?" he countered that calling Prosecutor General Yoon for emergency issue questioning would mean the National Assembly would lift his suspension. He said, "Emergency issue questioning targets institutions, not individuals," and emphasized, "Currently, Deputy Chief Cho Nam-gwan, not the suspended Prosecutor General Yoon, would attend. What authority does the National Assembly have to restore (Yoon's suspension)?"
Baek Hye-ryun, the ruling party's secretary of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and a member of the Democratic Party, stressed, "Although it is an administrative case, the bill concerning Prosecutor General Yoon is pending, and if he comes to the National Assembly to speak, it directly relates to the case. Since Prosecutor General Yoon is a party to the case, calling him to testify in the National Assembly is risky." In response to a question about the negative public opinion regarding Yoon's suspension making it difficult to point out procedural issues, Secretary Baek said, "If the committee passes a resolution, he can be compelled to appear. In Prosecutor General Yoon's case, preparing for the disciplinary committee's defense should come first."
Meanwhile, Chairman Yoon was reserved about the ruling party leadership's claim the previous day regarding a state audit of Prosecutor General Yoon. He said, "We need to observe how the situation develops," adding, "The disciplinary committee is upcoming, so whether the National Assembly should conduct an investigation before that proceeds needs to be seen." Regarding the possibility of a 'big deal' involving the 'three economic laws' and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials Act, he dismissed it, saying, "It was just an example, nothing more."
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