The 22nd National Assembly's First Audit Opens... 'Lee Jae-myung VS Kim Gun-hee' Clash [AK Radio]

Public Livelihood Audits Disappear, Political Strife Highlighted
Economic and Security Issues Pushed to the Backseat

The first national audit of the 22nd National Assembly opened on the 7th. This audit, which will continue for about a month until November 1, has already escalated into fierce confrontations between the ruling and opposition parties. As both sides focus on raising suspicions against each other's personnel, actual policy reviews and discussions on public livelihood issues have been pushed to the sidelines.

The opposition party, the Democratic Party of Korea, has defined this audit as the 'Kim Geon-hee Audit,' putting allegations related to First Lady Kim Geon-hee at the forefront. The main issues include suspicions of preferential treatment in the presidential residence construction, stock price manipulation allegations involving Deutsch Motors, plagiarism allegations in academic papers, and recently raised suspicions of interference in the candidate nomination process.

Regarding the presidential residence construction, the Democratic Party has announced plans for a rigorous investigation. They are raising suspicions about a company called '21Gram,' known as a sponsor of Kobana Contents, which Kim Geon-hee had supported in the past, having won the contract for the presidential residence construction. Opposition lawmakers question whether this company is qualified to carry out construction on a national critical facility and are closely tracking the process decided through a private contract.

In particular, the opposition points out that 21Gram, despite being an interior design company, lacks the certification to perform structural modifications yet secured the contract for a major national facility construction. They also question the fact that the contract was made through a private contract and are focusing on who recommended this company.

Legislative investigators from the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee and officials from the Office of Parliamentary Security visited the '21 Gram' office in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, on the 7th to execute the accompaniment order for witnesses Kim Tae-young and Lee Seung-man, who are involved in the national audit.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The opposition's response is tough. During the audits by the Administrative Safety Committee and the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, they have issued summons orders to representatives of related companies and are conducting intensive investigations. In fact, opposition lawmakers even attempted to deliver summons orders directly at 21Gram's office in Seongsu-dong. This is a clear example of how focused the opposition is on this issue from the early stages of the audit.

Regarding the Deutsch Motors stock price manipulation allegations, they pointed out delays in the investigation. They are also continuing to press on the plagiarism allegations that have been raised since before the presidential election. The opposition criticizes the Ministry of Justice and the prosecution for not properly investigating these cases.

Additionally, they have announced a focused offensive on the recently raised suspicions of interference in the candidate nomination process, which is expected to become a major issue in the upcoming audit. The opposition alleges that First Lady Kim intervened in the nomination process through the so-called 'Myeong Tae-gyun case' and demands a thorough investigation.

In response, the ruling party, the People Power Party, is raising suspicions of preferential treatment by pointing out delays in various trials involving party leader Lee Jae-myung. According to the Public Official Election Act, election-related trials should be concluded within one year, but in Lee's case, the first trial is proceeding after 799 days, indicating delays. The ruling party suspects that various preferential treatments are at play because Lee is the leader of the main opposition party.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Specifically, Article 270 of the Public Official Election Act stipulates that election-related trials must be handled promptly, prioritizing them over other trials. For the first trial, the trial must be completed within six months from the date of indictment, and for the second and third trials, within three months from the date of the previous trial's judgment. However, the ruling party claims that Lee Jae-myung's trials significantly deviate from these regulations.

Moreover, the People Power Party has raised suspicions related to former President Moon Jae-in's family. They mention the 'imperial protocol' controversy when First Lady Kim Jung-sook visited the Taj Mahal mausoleum in India. They also raised suspicions that the book design costs for Moon's daughter, Moon Da-hye, were excessively inflated. Through this, the ruling party is pressuring the opposition by pointing out moral issues of the previous administration.

Due to these confrontations between the ruling and opposition parties, most standing committees continued until 11 p.m. on the first day of the audit, with the Administrative Safety Committee session extending until 2 a.m. There are increasing criticisms that policy audits and livelihood audits are missing, replaced only by endless political strife. The public had hoped for discussions on real national issues such as the economic crisis, livelihood problems, and security issues, but the current audit atmosphere is far from these expectations.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party is pushing for an amendment to the 'Permanent Special Prosecutor Act' to investigate First Lady Kim Geon-hee, signaling that the political situation is expected to intensify further. The Democratic Party had previously pursued a special prosecutor law for Kim Geon-hee, but it was blocked by the president's veto. Now, they are seeking to utilize the Permanent Special Prosecutor Act.

The amendment to the Permanent Special Prosecutor Act includes provisions preventing the president from allowing the ruling party to have the right to recommend special prosecutor candidates. It also allows the permanent special prosecutor to investigate violations of testimony and appraisal laws during parliamentary hearings, national audits, or investigations. This is interpreted as a strategic move by the opposition to conduct a stronger investigation into allegations related to the First Lady.

Regarding Lee Jae-myung's remark, "If it doesn't work, we must pull [them] down," some interpret this as a prelude to the president's impeachment, drawing attention. The ruling party claims that the opposition is building up for impeachment. This suggests that the political situation may become even more heated going forward.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

This audit will conduct general institution audits until the 24th, followed by comprehensive audits and audits by the Women and Family Committee, Intelligence Committee, and Steering Committee, which are concurrent standing committees. A total of 802 institutions are subject to this audit, which will continue until November 1. This represents a very extensive national audit, meaning that various government agencies' work and policies must be thoroughly reviewed.

National Assembly officials and political experts hope that this audit will not devolve into partisan strife but become a venue for substantive policy review. However, given the current trend, the confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties is likely to intensify. Especially if the amendment to the Permanent Special Prosecutor Act pushed by the Democratic Party is passed, the political situation is expected to become more complicated.

It remains to be seen how the ruling and opposition parties' confrontations will unfold in the upcoming audit and whether substantive policy reviews and discussions on public livelihood issues will take place. The public hopes that politicians from both sides will go beyond political strife and deeply address issues directly related to the lives of the people. Whether this audit, summarized as the 'Kim Geon-hee vs. Lee Jae-myung' confrontation, will become a productive platform for policy discussion that meets the public's expectations or degenerate into a battleground for political conflict requires close monitoring of future developments.

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