People Power Party Participates in 'Chae Sang-byeong Incident State Audit'... Submits Special Committee Member List (Comprehensive)

Assemblymen Song Seok-jun, Yoo Sang-beom, Jang Dong-hyeok, and others

On the 2nd, the People Power Party decided to participate in the National Assembly's state audit investigation into the 'Chaesangbyeong line-of-duty death case' being promoted by the Democratic Party of Korea and submitted the list of special committee members to the Speaker's Office.

On the 2nd, Choo Kyung-ho, floor leader of the People Power Party, and senior lawmakers made a protest visit to Woo Won-shik's office, the Speaker of the National Assembly, to express their opposition to the reduction budget bill's passage in the plenary session. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

The People Power Party's special committee members are Song Seok-jun, Yoo Sang-beom, Jang Dong-hyuk, Kwak Gyu-taek, Park Jun-tae, Yoo Yong-won, and Joo Jin-woo. Except for Yoo Yong-won, who belongs to the National Defense Committee, all are members of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee.

Earlier, on the 27th of last month, the Democratic Party submitted a list to the Speaker's Office with five-term lawmaker Jeong Dong-young as chairman and two-term lawmaker Jeon Yong-gi as secretary. Park Beom-gye, Park Joo-min, Kim Byung-joo, Jang Kyung-tae, Kim Seong-hoe, Bu Seung-chan, Lee Sang-sik, and Hwang Myeong-seon were included in the committee list.

If the plan for the state audit investigation is approved as scheduled at the National Assembly plenary session on the 4th, the investigation could begin within the year. This will be the first National Assembly state audit investigation in two years since the one conducted in December 2022 to investigate the Itaewon tragedy and prevent its recurrence.

The background for the People Power Party's decision to participate in the opposition-led Chaesangbyeong case state audit investigation appears to be the judgment that, since the issue has already undergone hearings and state audits, there is little possibility of new suspicions arising, as well as the consideration that there is no reason to provide the opposition with a one-sided 'arena for offensive attacks.'

Choo Kyung-ho, the floor leader of the People Power Party, told reporters after a closed-door party meeting on the same day, "The National Assembly has conducted fact-finding activities through various hearings and state audits, but the Democratic Party is attempting to use the state audit investigation for political strife," adding, "Initially, we had a negative view for that reason." He continued, "We seriously considered not participating in the state audit investigation since the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Department has not yet released investigation results, but because the Democratic Party's unilateral operation of the state audit investigation could lead to another distorted form, the People Power Party will actively engage in the National Assembly's efforts for thorough fact-finding."

Furthermore, Floor Leader Choo said, "We decided to participate in the state audit investigation with the intention of thoroughly revealing various issues related to the Chaesangbyeong line-of-duty death case through the investigation, explaining them to the public, and providing an opportunity for the public to understand."