Questions on Politics, Diplomacy, Unification, and Security
Appointment Delay of Constitutional Court Candidate Ma Eun-hyuk Also a Key Issue
From the 12th, the ruling and opposition parties will enter a three-day session of government questioning at the February extraordinary National Assembly. The ruling party plans to focus on procedural issues related to the investigation of President Yoon Seok-yeol's emergency martial law and the Constitutional Court's impeachment trial. The opposition party intends to emphasize the illegality of martial law while pointing out the government's delay in appointing Constitutional Court justices.
The National Assembly will hold a plenary session at 2 p.m. that day to conduct government questioning in the fields of politics, diplomacy, unification, and security. On the government side, Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yeol, Acting Minister of Justice Kim Seok-woo, and Acting Minister of National Defense Kim Seon-ho will attend.
The People Power Party plans to raise issues regarding the procedural legitimacy of the impeachment trial following President Yoon's declaration of emergency martial law and the political bias of the Constitutional Court justices. People Power Party lawmaker Seong Il-jong said, "Strict measures are needed regarding the inconsistent testimonies of key witnesses related to President Yoon's arrest order on the day of martial law, including former National Intelligence Service First Deputy Director Hong Jang-won and former Army Special Warfare Command Commander Kwak Jong-geun." He emphasized the need to verify the authenticity of former Deputy Director Hong's testimony that he "received an order from the President to arrest former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon and others" and the 'arrest memo.'
People Power Party lawmaker Kim Yong-tae plans to raise concerns about the appointment of Ma Eun-hyuk as a Constitutional Court justice candidate without bipartisan agreement. In addition, he will address the issue of personal information leaks stemming from the 'DeepSeek' incident amid the diplomatic and security vacuum.
On the other hand, the Democratic Party plans to question President Yoon and key figures such as former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun about allegations of insurrection and raise issues regarding recent police personnel appointments. Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Yeon-hee said in a phone interview, "There are suspicions that President Yoon's intentions were reflected in the appointment of Park Hyun-soo as the acting chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. We are preparing questions on this matter." Earlier, Acting Chief Park was suspected of involvement in martial law after it was revealed that he had communicated with Police Chief Jo Ji-ho, who was accused of ordering the blockade of the National Assembly during martial law, and former Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min.
Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Seong-hwan plans to focus on President Yoon's top ten lies and his connection with Mr. Myeong Tae-gyun. Kim's office stated, "President Yoon's statement during his presidential campaign that 'my mother-in-law has never caused anyone even 10 won worth of damage' constitutes false information under the Public Official Election Act, and the President's lie about 'cutting ties with Myeong Tae-gyun' should be legally held accountable."
Justice Innovation Party lawmaker Jeong Chun-saeng will criticize the delay in appointing candidate Ma. In a phone interview, Jeong said, "Choi Sang-mok, Acting Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance, appointed only two of the three Constitutional Court justice candidates elected by the National Assembly on December 31 last year (Jeong Gye-seon and Jo Han-chang) and delayed the appointment of candidate Ma," adding, "We will question the infringement on the National Assembly's authority to elect justices."
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