D-2 Before National Audit... Ruling and Opposition Parties Clash Over Choo Son Controversy and Civil Servant Shooting Incident

- Ruling Party Sets 4 Major National Audit Agendas: Overcoming National Crisis, Livelihood, Future Transition, Peace
- Lee Nak-yeon: "Absurd Attacks Can Be Blocked with Facts"
- Opposition Predicts Focused Offensive in National Defense Committee Audit... Political Conflict Inevitable

[Asia Economy reporters Yang Nak-gyu, military specialist, Kang Nahum, and Lim Chun-han] The National Assembly will begin its audit of state affairs starting from the 7th. The ruling party intends to make this audit a 'policy forum' rather than a political battle, but the opposition party has announced an all-out offensive on various issues, making clashes seem inevitable. In particular, fierce confrontations between the ruling and opposition parties are expected in the National Defense Committee and other standing committees over current issues such as allegations of special treatment during military service for Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae's son and the case of the missing civil servant killed in the West Sea.

According to political circles on the 5th, the Democratic Party of Korea has set four major audit themes: ▲Overcoming national crises ▲Livelihood ▲Future transition ▲Peace, and has begun preparations for the audit. At the Supreme Council meeting that day, Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon said, "The opposition party will continue with very harsh attacks," and urged, "Please block baseless attacks with facts and correct unfounded distortions with facts." He added, "The government should calmly correct erroneous claims by lawmakers, but if the government is at fault, it must immediately apologize and rectify the situation." This reflects the determination to conduct this audit as a 'policy audit' rather than a political battle.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, the opposition parties, including the People Power Party, are not prepared to let the audit, often called the opposition's stage, pass by quietly. Although Democratic Party floor leader Kim Tae-nyeon and People Power Party floor leader Joo Ho-young held a dinner meeting on the last day of the Chuseok holiday to agree on cooperating to solve livelihood issues, significant disagreements on various current issues make clashes inevitable during this audit.

In particular, during the National Defense Committee's audit, disputes are expected over allegations regarding Minister Choo's son's leave and the 'defection controversy' surrounding the civil servant shot by North Korean forces on Yeonpyeong Island. The People Power Party has announced that the core issue is whether Minister Choo was involved in the improper extension of her son's leave and plans to focus on this during the Ministry of National Defense audit.

However, there are concerns within and outside the military that the Ministry of National Defense audit might be engulfed in political attacks and become solely focused on the controversy surrounding Minister Choo. During last month's confirmation hearing for Minister of National Defense Seo Wook, the allegations of special treatment for Minister Choo's son, Mr. Seo, became a major issue, significantly reducing questions about Minister Seo's doctoral dissertation plagiarism, false address registration, and 'gap investment' suspicions.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Disputes are also expected over the 'defection controversy' regarding the civil servant shot by North Korean forces on Yeonpyeong Island. However, lawmakers have been criticized for interpreting or selectively ignoring the same reports differently depending on their political stance, which may lead to the issue being used for political battles rather than uncovering the truth. In particular, as special intelligence (SI) such as intercepted communications collected by the military becomes the center of political debate, there are concerns about indiscriminate disclosure. The military argues that if the intelligence acquisition routes are exposed, an 'information blackout' will inevitably occur for some time.

Some voices argue that due to the Ministry of National Defense's initial disregard for the public's right to know, the matter must be revealed through the National Assembly. A National Assembly official said, "Since the lives of citizens were taken due to North Korea's inhumane acts, the accurate facts must be disclosed to the public, but the Ministry of National Defense's attitude of keeping things quiet under the pretext of security is a bigger problem."

The Legislation and Judiciary Committee is also likely to conduct a 'Choo Mi-ae audit' similar to the National Defense Committee. The opposition is expected to launch an offensive over the inappropriateness of the prosecution's investigation into Minister Choo and her son, as well as the controversy over lies raised by KakaoTalk conversations exchanged between Minister Choo and her aide. Additionally, confrontations between the ruling and opposition parties are anticipated over the selection of the Public Officials Corruption Investigation Unit chief candidate and the enforcement of the Public Officials Corruption Investigation Unit Act.

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