When the ruling party flared up at the term 'Lying Government,' the opposition shouted, "You have no manners" [2022 National Audit]

Sharp Tensions on the First Day of the National Audit
Lee Hae-sik Criticizes "Lies" Over Presidential Office Relocation Costs and Inauguration Guest List Destruction
Ruling Party's Lee Man-hee Accuses of "Labeling as a 'Lying Government' with Unfounded Claims"
Opposition's Kim Kyo-heung Says "No Interference Over Lawmaker's Remarks... It's Disrespectful"

On the afternoon of the 26th of last month, at the full meeting of the Administrative Safety Committee held at the National Assembly, Lee Man-hee, a member of the People Power Party and party whip (right), and Kim Gyo-heung, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, exchanged opinions regarding the attendance of witnesses and reference persons for the 2022 National Assembly audit. 2022.9.26 Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyun-joo] On the first day of the National Assembly audit on the 4th, the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee witnessed a heated exchange between the ruling and opposition parties over the remarks made by Lee Hae-sik, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, who described the Yoon Seok-yeol administration as a "lying government."

During the Public Administration and Security Committee's audit, Lee Hae-sik said to Minister Lee Sang-min, "The Yoon Seok-yeol administration is consistently lying," adding, "It was a lie that 49.6 billion won was sufficient for the relocation costs of the presidential office, it was a lie that the list of the presidential inauguration ceremony was destroyed, and despite the president making controversial remarks involving profanity and vulgar language, he said he 'does not remember'." He then asked, "Who would believe those lies?"

In response, Lee Man-hee, the ruling party's secretary of the committee, opposed, saying, "Statements that categorically assert facts that do not exist or are highly controversial and label the administration as a 'lying government' require the chairman to issue a strict warning."

Then, Kim Gyo-heung, the opposition party's secretary, raised his voice during a procedural speech, saying, "You cannot dictate how a member of the National Assembly should speak," and added, "Lee Man-hee should apologize. If the National Assembly is operated like this, how can we make statements and ask questions?"

Lee Man-hee explained, "There is no intention to control speech at all," but Kim Gyo-heung retorted, "If you don't want to listen, why do you only talk about yourself?" and slammed the desk, saying, "You have no manners right now."

Afterward, Lee shouted, "Who are you calling ill-mannered now?" and Kim responded without backing down, saying, "You have no manners, no manners at all."

As the chamber grew noisy, Lee Chae-ik, the chairman of the Public Administration and Security Committee, urged both sides to exercise restraint and said, "Secretary Kim, please apologize for the 'ill-mannered' remark," bringing the situation under control.

The chairman said, "Questions raised in the National Assembly are made on behalf of the people, so each member must take full responsibility for their questions, and if there are any complaints, please refute them with accurate facts."