Kim Geon-hee, Choi Eun-soon, and 39 Other Witnesses Summoned
Dispute Erupts Over Appointment of People Power Party Whip
The National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee (Law Committee) has adopted Kim Geon-hee, the wife of President Yoon Seok-yeol, as a witness for the National Assembly hearing. Jeong Cheong-rae, the chairman of the Law Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, passed all the hearing agenda items despite ruling party members walking out in protest of the schedule.
At the plenary meeting held at 2 p.m. on the 9th, the Law Committee tabled and discussed the "Petition Requesting Immediate Filing of the Impeachment Motion Against President Yoon." Subsequently, Chairman Jeong passed three agenda items related to holding the hearing solely with the opposition party's votes. He explained, "Since the debate has concluded, the petition should be referred to the Petition Review Subcommittee, but considering the gravity of the matter, we will hold a hearing at the Law Committee level before referral."
According to the hearing implementation plan approved by the Law Committee, the witnesses include Kim Geon-hee, President Yoon's mother-in-law Choi Eun-soon, Pastor Choi Jae-young, former Marine Corps 1st Division Commander Lim Seong-geun, former Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-seop, former Marine Corps Investigation Unit Commander Park Jeong-hoon, and 39 others. They will attend the hearings held in two sessions on the 19th and 26th. Kim Geon-hee and her mother were identified by the Law Committee as "key figures in the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation case" and were requested to appear on the 26th.
On the 9th, at the plenary meeting of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee held at the National Assembly, ruling party lawmakers walked out in protest against the adoption of the hearing plan related to the "Petition for Immediate Proposal of Impeachment against President Yoon Seok-yeol." Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@
Ruling party members protested the tabling of agenda items without bipartisan agreement and without appointing a ruling party secretary before their walkout. Song Seok-jun, a member of the People Power Party, said, "After the secretaries from both parties are properly appointed, other agenda items should be smoothly agreed upon by both sides," requesting that the agenda to appoint the ruling party secretary be handled first. Opposition party members expressed differing views. Democratic Party member Jang Kyung-tae also emphasized, "Since the agenda was already confirmed the previous day, it should be handled on a first-in, first-out basis." Chairman Jeong decided to handle the secretary appointment agenda after the already confirmed agenda and proceeded with the debate.
Later, around 3 p.m., Chairman Jeong declared the debate sufficiently conducted and ended the discussion. The vote to end the debate passed with 11 in favor and 7 abstentions out of 18 committee members. In protest, ruling party members did not participate in the vote related to the hearing and walked out. After leaving, Representative Song stated at the National Assembly Communication Office, "In the committee, the chairman confirms that questions have ended during the debate between ruling and opposition members and concludes when there are no further questions," adding, "Chairman Jeong unilaterally declared the end of the debate."
Ultimately, the appointment of the ruling party secretary was not made that day.
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