Operation Committee, Fierce Exchange of Insults in Goseong... Park Chandae "Shut Up" VS Bae Hyunjin "Apologize" (Summary)

'02-800' Controversy... Jeong Jin-seok "State Secret"
Kang Yoo-jung "Google It, Everything's Leaked"
Cheon Ha-ram "Where's the Dior Bag? Will Verify"

On the 1st, the full meeting of the National Assembly's Steering Committee saw members of the 22nd National Assembly from both ruling and opposition parties gather for the first time, but the meeting was repeatedly suspended due to loud voices and harsh language throughout. During the meeting, sharp exchanges occurred, including remarks such as "Don't point fingers" and "Is that how the Democratic Party fathers teach?" There was also a dispute over whether the phone number '02-800-7070,' which was sent to former Minister Lee Jong-seop regarding the suspicion of external pressure on the investigation of the Chaesangbyeong death case, belonged to President Yoon Seok-yeol.

That morning, the National Assembly Steering Committee held a full meeting chaired by Park Chan-dae, the Democratic Party floor leader and committee chair, receiving reports on current issues from the Presidential Office and others. Earlier, the opposition party had adopted 16 witnesses, including presidential aides, for questioning at the full meeting on the 21st, which the ruling party and the Presidential Office had not attended.

The meeting began with a heated debate over whether materials had been submitted. Park Sung-jun, the opposition party's secretary of the Steering Committee and a Democratic Party lawmaker, questioned, "How can we listen to a business report without the submission of materials?" In response, Jeong Jin-seok, Chief of the Presidential Secretariat, replied, "Since they came as witnesses, it seems the business status report was not yet prepared."

In response, Kang Min-guk, a People Power Party lawmaker, defended the Presidential Office, saying, "Where else would there be a case of forcibly adopting witnesses and compelling them to take an oath to enforce inquiries on unspecified issues?" He added, "Forcible adoption of witnesses and coercion to testify is an abuse of power." When Chair Park asked him to "please organize your remarks," Kang retorted, "Is this the cooperation you mentioned, Representative?"

Then Chair Park raised his voice, saying, "Please do not point fingers," and Kang responded with a protest, "Is that how Democratic Party fathers teach?" Earlier, Kang Min-gu, a Democratic Party Supreme Council member, had made a remark likening "Democratic Party fathers" to Representative Lee Jae-myung, which caused a commotion in the Steering Committee even before the formal questioning began.

Ruling and Opposition Parties' Tensions at the Steering Committee Meeting
(Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Ju-seong = On the morning of the 1st, at the Steering Committee plenary meeting held at the National Assembly, Chairman Park Chan-dae (center) is seen conversing with People Power Party's floor leader Bae Jun-young (right) and Democratic Party's floor leader Park Sung-jun. 2024.7.1
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Heated Debate Over the Origin of '02-800-7070'... Jeong Jin-seok Calls It "State Secret"

During the investigation by the Marine Corps Investigation Unit into the death of Chaesangbyeong, there was a heated debate over whether the landline phone number starting with '02-800,' which then Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop used to contact the Presidential Office, belonged to President Yoon Seok-yeol.

Democratic Party lawmaker Ko Min-jung raised suspicions, saying, "After the call was made to that number, things proceeded rapidly." In response, Chief Jeong and Jang Ho-jin of the National Security Office each denied that the number belonged to the Secretariat or the Security Office. They also emphasized that the user of '02-800-7070' is a confidential security matter. Additionally, Yoon Jae-soon, Secretary-General, added, "The Presidential Secretariat frequently increases or decreases personnel and offices, so phones are installed and removed accordingly." Ko Min-jung criticized this as "evidence destruction."

Chief Jeong dismissed rumors of President Yoon's anger. He said, "I have never heard of the president being furious or enraged," and Kim Tae-hyo, First Deputy Director of the National Security Office, also said, "I have been in office for about two months. I have neither seen nor heard of President Yoon being enraged." The Democratic Party, following the meeting, released call records exchanged between President Yoon, the Presidential Office, and military officials, emphasizing the need for a special prosecutor.

Chief Presidential Secretary Refutes Allegations
(Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Shin Junhee = On the 1st, the full meeting of the Steering Committee was held at the National Assembly.
Jeong Jin-seok, Chief Presidential Secretary, is responding to a lawmaker's question. 2024.7.1
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Park Chan-dae "Shut Your Mouth" vs. Bae Hyun-jin "Apologize"

The National Assembly Steering Committee suspended the meeting due to loud voices just one hour after resuming the afternoon session. The conflict began when Im I-ja, a People Power Party lawmaker, interrupted during a question by Democratic Party lawmaker Jeong Eun-ho. Bae Hyun-jin of the People Power Party asked Chair Park Chan-dae to "make the proceedings smoother," to which Chair Park replied, "If you shut your mouth, I will proceed."

In response, Kim Jeong-jae of the People Power Party protested, "Shut my mouth? Are you telling a lawmaker to shut their mouth?" Kang Min-guk, also from the same party, stood up and demanded, "Please remove Chair Park Chan-dae." Chair Park raised his voice, saying, "Kang Min-guk, sit down. I told you to shut your mouth," while Bae Hyun-jin demanded an apology from Chair Park. Bae Jun-young, a People Power Party secretary, intervened, saying, "That was not a good expression," and requested an apology, but Chair Park refused, asking, "Why apologize? Are you telling me to open my mouth at this time?" As emotions escalated on both sides, making it difficult to proceed, Chair Park temporarily suspended the meeting.

After the meeting resumed, Jeong Seong-guk of the People Power Party again requested an apology from Bae Hyun-jin, saying to Chair Park, "Even a principal would be reported for child abuse if they told a first grader to shut their mouth in this world." Chair Park expressed regret, saying, "If the expression 'shut your mouth' caused discomfort, I express my regret," but also requested, "Please refrain from interrupting a fellow lawmaker's questioning time, as it is not appropriate."

Rep. Bae Hyun-jin Protesting Chairman Park Chan-dae
(Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Joo-hyung = On the afternoon of the 1st, Rep. Bae Hyun-jin of the People Power Party (left) is protesting Chairman Park Chan-dae of the Democratic Party (right) as he leaves after a brief recess during the full meeting of the Steering Committee held at the National Assembly.
Chairman Park reportedly said, "If Rep. Bae Hyun-jin keeps quiet, we can proceed smoothly," when the session became noisy due to protest remarks from both ruling and opposition parties during Rep. Jung Eul-ho of the Democratic Party's questioning time. 2024.7.1
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Where Is the Dior Bag? Cheon Ha-ram Says "Will Conduct On-site Inspection"

During the meeting, questions were also raised about the storage location of the 'Dior bag' reportedly received by First Lady Kim Geon-hee. When Cheon Ha-ram of the Reform New Party asked, "Where is the Dior bag stored?" Chief Jeong replied, "It is stored inside the government building in its original packaging." Cheon then asked, "If the Presidential Office agrees to an on-site inspection to verify whether the Dior bag is stored in its original packaging, will you cooperate?"

Chief Jeong avoided a direct answer, saying, "We need to discuss it." He added, "We need to determine whether the Dior bag should be attributed to the national treasury, but since it has become a case, we need to wait for the investigation results." Cheon said, "There are many legal experts here, so isn't it unreasonable that you still cannot decide whether it belongs to the national treasury or under what title it should be attributed?" He requested, "Please report the exact location of this item (the Dior bag) before the next Steering Committee meeting."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Kang Yoo-jung: "'02-800' State Secret? Try Googling, It's All Leaked"

Following the morning session, the dispute over whether the Presidential Office's '02-800' number is a state secret continued. Kang Yoo-jung of the Democratic Party pointed out to Chief Jeong, "You said you cannot disclose where 02-800-7070 belongs for security reasons, but try Googling it. There are 16 Presidential Office numbers starting with 02-800 that appear in the search results."

Kang said, "I even called the number myself. I asked ChatGPT to tell me the phone numbers of the Presidential Office departments starting with 800, and it listed the phone numbers of each department of the Presidential Office." She criticized, "You are strictly hiding it for security reasons, but it's all leaked. What are you going to do about it?"

She added, "Don't just come here to keep secrets; really protect national security. What is so special about 7070 that only that is considered a security issue?" Chief Jeong responded, "I was only explaining the official position."