[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] On the 27th, the ruling and opposition parties engaged in a sharp confrontation over President Yoon Seok-yeol's 'vulgar language remarks' controversy during the plenary meeting of the National Assembly Steering Committee to adopt the plan for the National Assembly inspection.
Lee Su-jin, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, said in a parliamentary procedure speech that "President Yoon demanded a thorough investigation, stating that the curse words during his overseas trip were not true, while the People Power Party is threatening to suppress the media," and criticized it as "shameless behavior that cannot be described enough even with words like 'brazen' and 'shameless'."
She added, "It should not be brushed aside with 'self-verification,' and the National Assembly must step in to thoroughly investigate," demanding an urgent briefing from the Presidential Office.
Park Young-soon, also from the same party, said, "The public is curious whether he actually did not attend or was unable to attend the condolence visit at the funeral in the UK," and "He made rude remarks at the US Global Fund meeting, so we cannot help but hold accountable the Foreign Minister and officials who accompanied him at the time to strictly find out the truth and why such remarks were made."
In response, Yoon Doo-hyun of the People Power Party said, "Freedom of the press is not the freedom to lie," and questioned, "Isn't it strange to add subtitles to the news broadcast? They must confirm with the person involved, so why put 'US' in parentheses?" He then targeted Park Hong-geun, the Democratic Party floor leader, who mentioned the issue before the official report, saying, "How can leaked materials that were supposed to be embargoed be spread? It reminds me of the movie 'Minority Report'?a 'Korean version of Minority Report.'"
Jo Eun-hee, also from the same party, said, "MBC's report is false and violates journalistic ethics," and added, "As Yoon just said, how can such remarks come out in the political sphere before the report? Even voice analysis experts could not specify the words, so how can they be identified?" targeting Floor Leader Park again.
As Democratic Party members continued to protest against the remarks targeting Floor Leader Park, Kwon Seong-dong, the People Power Party's Steering Committee chairman, attempted to end the meeting by saying, "Let's stop here." Nevertheless, when Democratic Party members raised their voices demanding personal remarks, Chairman Kwon declared a recess, saying, "It is impossible to proceed with the meeting."
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