Jeon Du-hwan, Baek Jong-won, Pengsu... National Assembly Audit Witnesses and Reference Persons

Yang Hyang-ja, Witness Request for Entire National Tax Service Audit
From Business Leaders to Star Broadcasters
Attendance at the Audit Also a Key Point

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] As the National Assembly audit approaches and each standing committee begins to decide on witnesses and reference persons, both ruling and opposition parties are eager to adopt unique witnesses and reference persons such as business leaders and celebrities. Whether these individuals participate in this audit is expected to be another point of interest.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Yang Hyangja, a member of the Planning and Finance Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, has requested former President Jeon Du-hwan as a witness for the National Tax Service audit to question whether proper tax investigations were conducted on his large-scale habitual tax arrears. Kim Jin-ae, a member of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee from the Open Democratic Party, has requested Bang Sang-hoon, president of Chosun Ilbo, as a witness for the Supreme Prosecutors' Office audit regarding allegations that Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol had private meetings during his time as head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.

Many corporate heads will also appear. The Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee has requested the heads of the five major conglomerates as witnesses: Lee Jae-yong, Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics; Chung Eui-sun, Executive Vice Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group; Chey Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group; Koo Kwang-mo, Chairman of LG Group; and Shin Dong-bin, Chairman of Lotte Group. However, the National Assembly later decided to lower the level of attendees to vice presidents and executive directors of each group. The Industry, Trade, Energy, Small and Medium Enterprises and Startups Committee will call Kim Kyung-ho, CEO of Tesla Korea, while the Environment and Labor Committee will summon Song Ho-seop, CEO of Starbucks Korea, and Hwang Hak-soo, CEO of Kyochon F&B, as witnesses regarding the treatment of emotional laborers and franchise obligations.

Broadcast stars were also called as reference persons. On the 24th, the Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee selected Baek Jong-won, CEO of The Born Korea, as a reference person. The committee plans to question Baek about effective improvement measures to promote the sales of agricultural and marine products. Baek has shown on broadcasts that he develops menus using local specialties and has asked Chung Yong-jin, Vice Chairman of Shinsegae Group, to help sell potatoes. Baek also attended the Industry and Trade Committee audit in 2018, where he was questioned about measures to revitalize local commercial districts.

The Political Affairs Committee initially planned to request 'Dotty,' a YouTuber with 2.5 million subscribers known as the so-called 'super president,' as a reference person regarding the controversy over YouTube's 'hidden advertisements' during the Fair Trade Commission audit, but after discussion, he was excluded. Attention is also focused on whether the popular character 'Pengsoo' will appear at the audit. On the 23rd, the Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Communications Committee selected Pengsoo as a reference person for the EBS audit. Hwang Bo-seung-hee, a member of the People Power Party, stated, "We want to check whether Pengsoo is being properly treated and whether there is labor exploitation under poor working conditions." Pengsoo will appear alongside Kim Myung-joong, president of EBS, and according to bipartisan agreement, Pengsoo will be able to appear in the audit venue in the form of a 210cm tall penguin.

According to the National Assembly Act, a person requested to appear as a witness at the audit must comply, but may submit a written reason for non-attendance up to three days before the audit and thus be excused from appearing. Although attendance is not mandatory, there is great interest in whether these unique witnesses and reference persons will appear at the audit venue.

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