Park Hong-geun "National audit is a powerful means to reveal the truth... Will urge ruling party participation in special committee formation process"

Held a press briefing emphasizing the need for a national audit
"Will use all means including special investigation and hearings"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Park Hong-geun, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, emphasized the necessity of a parliamentary inquiry related to the Itaewon disaster, stating that "boycotting the parliamentary inquiry is a 'boycott by the people' and a boycott of the truth." The opposition parties expressed strong determination to uncover the truth by using all means, including special prosecutors and hearings.

On the 9th, Park held a press conference at the National Assembly and said, "The first reason a parliamentary inquiry is necessary is for thorough fact-finding," adding, "The public wants the truth every minute and second. The incident is being downplayed, and evidence is being destroyed." He continued, "A parliamentary inquiry, as defined by law, is a powerful and effective means to reveal the substantial truth to the public through public verification of materials and witness examinations."

He also explained that another reason for the parliamentary inquiry is "to hold strict accountability." He said, "There is a cause and effect, and truth entails responsibility," adding, "In the heart of Seoul, 156 young people were innocently crushed to death, yet no one in the government has stepped down or taken responsibility."

As a third reason, he stated, "To fulfill the National Assembly's grave duty." Park said, "This happened to someone, but it could happen to anyone. If not corrected, tragedy can occur at any time," and emphasized, "We must identify the cause of the disaster, hold those responsible accountable, and firmly establish measures to prevent recurrence."

On the same day, the Democratic Party submitted a request for a parliamentary inquiry to the National Assembly's legislative affairs office and plans to report it as an agenda item at tomorrow's plenary session. However, they left open the possibility of future negotiations with the ruling party. Park said, "We will submit the list of members to form a special committee, and once adopted at the plenary session, we will begin legal activities," adding, "We will continue to urge the ruling party to participate throughout the process."

However, if the ruling party continues to oppose, he warned of forced passage. He explained, "If they refuse until the end, we have no choice but to follow the procedures stipulated by law. According to the Act on the Inspection and Investigation of State Affairs, members of negotiation groups who refuse to participate in the investigation can be excluded from the formation of the special committee."

Although the Justice Party and the Basic Income Party joined the request for the parliamentary inquiry, regarding the lack of cooperation from the Transition Korea Party, Park criticized, "What does that person (Assemblyman Cho Jung-hoon of Transition Korea Party) see in front of his eyes if not political strife?"

Earlier, the Democratic Party stated that they would use all methods, including special prosecutors and hearings, in addition to the parliamentary inquiry, to uncover the truth. However, he explained that the execution procedure and timing are important. Park said, "We must consider all means. However, there is an order to things," adding, "If necessary, since there are suspicions that the government under investigation is conducting the investigation and even talks of evidence destruction, we cannot rely solely on police investigations, which is why a parliamentary inquiry is necessary."