Lee Hanju: "Requesting Revised Briefings Is a Commitment to Cooperation with the Public Sector, Not an Abuse of Power"
On the 22nd, Han Joo Lee, chairman of the National Planning Committee, commented on the ministry-level briefings, stating, "Overall, there are disappointing aspects compared to the efforts made," and pointed out, "There seems to be a lack of understanding regarding the national governance philosophy."
Han Joo Lee, chairman of the National Planning Committee, and the heads of divisions are answering questions from the press at a press briefing held on the 22nd at the National Planning Committee in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News
At a press briefing held that day at the annex of the Government Complex Seoul in Changseong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Chairman Lee said, "The ministry briefings fell short in reflecting the President's pledges in policy. There was also a lack of proactive efforts to deliver a better life to the people," expressing his concerns.
He added, "Rather than being a specific problem, this reflects the relaxed state of national administration over the past three years," and criticized, "Although it has been two weeks since the new administration took office, there still seems to be a lack of effort to adapt to the new government."
In particular, regarding the Prosecutors' Office, Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, and Korea Communications Commission, whose briefings were interrupted by the National Planning Committee, he emphasized, "We will receive new briefings from these agencies," and stressed, "We hope to see clear evidence of their efforts."
Regarding criticism from the opposition that the suspension of briefings by the National Planning Committee constitutes abuse of power, he responded, "The focus is on thoroughly understanding President Jaemyung Lee's pledges, campaign statements, and social media policy messages and moving forward together. What previous administrations have done is of secondary concern," and added, "If we were truly disappointed, we would never receive briefings again and only draft plans for pledge implementation. However, deciding to receive revised briefings is a demonstration of our commitment to working together with the public sector until the end."
Haesik Lee, head of the Politics and Administration Division, pointed out regarding the Supreme Prosecutors' Office briefing, "The issue of separating indictment and investigative powers, which is one of the most important pledges, was entirely omitted from the briefing," and added, "There was no mention of how to control the abuse of prosecutors' indictment powers, how to protect the rights of subjects during investigations, or the issue of revising the Criminal Procedure Act."
Regarding the omission of measures to improve the disciplinary system for prosecutors, Division Head Lee further pointed out, "Prosecutors have only been subject to discipline under the disciplinary law, which has led to ongoing criticism of favoritism and protectionism. The pledge to ensure a certain level of fairness by aligning prosecutors' discipline with that of general public officials was also not included." The Politics and Administration Division of the National Planning Committee decided to request revised briefing materials from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office by the 24th and to hold a follow-up briefing at 10 a.m. on the 25th at the annex of the Government Complex Seoul in Changseong-dong.
The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries became subject to a follow-up briefing due to suspicions that materials related to the relocation to Busan were leaked to a specific media outlet before the official briefing. Chunseok Lee, head of the Economic Division 2, stated, "We were scheduled to receive the ministry's briefing at 2 p.m. on the 20th, but we confirmed that related content was published in the media at 1:53 p.m., before the meeting even started or the materials were distributed," and added, "We asked the ministry about the circumstances of the leak and received a response, but we found it entirely unconvincing and suspended the briefing around 3 p.m."
Division Head Lee further criticized, "It seems the ministry is being too complacent. The issue of relocating the ministry to Busan is extremely important, yet it was addressed only at the very end of the briefing materials, and even then, the content was handled too complacently and inadequately."
He continued, "During his presidential campaign, President Jaemyung Lee made many pledges for Korea to become a maritime powerhouse, such as relocating HMM's headquarters and developing the Arctic route," and added, "We will continue to pursue these matters with determination. The specific roadmap will be disclosed through the National Planning Committee."
Earlier, on the 20th, the Korea Communications Commission also became subject to a follow-up briefing after reporting on only 8 out of 23 presidential pledges during its briefing. Changnam Hong, head of the Social Division 2, explained, "The commission did not respond at all to the advance questionnaire, so we had no choice but to verify whether there was any intention to fulfill the pledges." The Korea Communications Commission is scheduled to hold its follow-up briefing at 10 a.m. on the 26th.
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