Gyeonggi Province has refused to participate in the administrative audit conducted by the Gyeonggi Provincial Council's Steering Committee.
On November 19, the public officials of Gyeonggi Province who are subject to the administrative audit by the council's Steering Committee issued a press release stating, "Assemblyman Yang Woosik of the Gyeonggi Provincial Council is insisting on presiding over the administrative audit," and added, "The public officials subject to the Steering Committee's audit cannot accept the presence or participation of Assemblyman Yang Woosik in the audit proceedings."
They continued, "According to the police investigation, Assemblyman Yang's sexually harassing remarks have been clearly established as fact," and argued, "Given that he has been indicted by prosecutors, it is only natural that he should step down from his position as chair of the Steering Committee, which requires moral integrity, and face trial."
Furthermore, they stated, "Assemblyman Yang has not issued a single apology to date and has even engaged in secondary and tertiary harm, such as threatening legal action against the public officials' union and civil servants," and added, "We have consistently opposed Assemblyman Yang Woosik presiding over or participating in the Steering Committee's audit in order to faithfully fulfill our duties. However, since our position has ultimately not been accepted, we regret that we are now inevitably unable to attend."
They emphasized, "We ask for your understanding that, as an institution assisting the governor-who represents the residents and public officials of the province-especially now that the province has appointed its first female chief secretary, we are in a position where we simply cannot comply with an audit presided over by Assemblyman Yang," and promised, "If our request is accepted at any time in the future, we will sincerely participate in the administrative audit."
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