Lee Won-wook "All 300 National Assembly Members Must Undergo Conflict of Interest Investigation"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jin-young] Lee Won-wook, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, proposed a full survey of National Assembly members on the 21st in relation to the recent controversy over conflicts of interest among lawmakers.

Lee Won-wook, Member of the Democratic Party of Korea./Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

On the afternoon of the same day, Lee stated on his Facebook, “Watching the controversy surrounding the conflict of interest of Park Deok-heum, a member of the People Power Party, I remember the frustration I felt in 2016 when I was the chairman of a subcommittee of a standing committee,” expressing this view.

He cited the example of Park opposing bills related to construction companies in the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee subcommittee at that time. Lee said, “Attention is being paid to what position Park took in 2016 regarding the bill to strengthen sanctions against bid-rigging by construction companies. Of course, he opposed it,” adding, “Moreover, he also opposed a bill that would impose criminal penalties for not indicating the origin of major construction materials. He said that indicating the origin would be like shifting the burden onto construction contractors.”

Lee pointed out, “Park strongly insisted on withholding the bill, and eventually the bill was withheld,” and said, “The bill review process is a moment that determines the lives of the people. What kind of decision should a lawmaker make at that moment?”

He emphasized, “On this occasion, a full survey of all 300 National Assembly members regarding conflicts of interest should be conducted,” and “It is also necessary to establish standards that the public can accept.”

He also called on the role of the National Assembly Ethics Special Committee, which is responsible for reviewing qualifications and disciplining lawmakers. Lee added, “The defunct National Assembly Ethics Special Committee must be able to function properly. The eyes of the people are watching the National Assembly.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.