National Defense Committee Passes Audit Plan for Now... Witness Adoption Agreement 'Not Yet'

Min Hong-chul, Chairman of the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly, is presiding over the full meeting of the National Defense Committee held at the National Assembly on the morning of the 6th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Although the ruling and opposition parties failed to reach an agreement on the adoption of witnesses related to the allegations involving Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae's son, the National Defense Committee held a plenary session and approved the National Assembly inspection plan. The People Power Party, which had announced a boycott of the National Defense Committee, attended the session instead and demanded the adoption of witnesses, confronting the ruling party.

On the morning of the 6th, the National Defense Committee held a plenary meeting and submitted and approved the 2020 National Assembly inspection plan, requests for reports and document submissions, and requests for the attendance of witnesses and reference persons.

The opposition party's demand for witness adoption related to Minister Choo's son's allegations was completely rejected by the ruling party, prompting the opposition to announce a boycott. Although the anticipated boycott did not occur, People Power Party members who attended the National Defense Committee meeting condemned the ruling party's refusal to adopt witnesses. Ha Tae-kyung, a People Power Party lawmaker, said, "The issue concerning Minister Choo's son is a matter of 'fairness,' one of the most precious values of the Republic of Korea," adding, "From the opposition's perspective, they have no choice but to raise issues that remain unresolved. At the previous plenary meeting, not a single witness was agreed upon, and now again, none will be accepted," raising his voice. Kang Dae-sik, from the same party, also raised concerns, stating, "Not only the son of Minister Choo but also witnesses related to the Yeonpyeong Island shooting incident, the transfer of wartime operational control, and the K2 tank were all rejected."

Hong Joon-pyo, an independent lawmaker and former leader of the Liberty Korea Party, the predecessor of the People Power Party, said, "When I was the floor leader in 2008, the ruling coalition had 170 members and the Democratic Party only 81, but through negotiations with the Democratic Party over two and a half months, we reached an agreement to open the session," urging, "Let's not end in political strife but compromise and consult with each other, respecting the positions of opposition floor leaders."

In response, Hong Young-pyo, a Democratic Party lawmaker, criticized, "The issue of Minister Choo's son has been exploited by the opposition to the fullest extent," adding, "They created and condemned incidents using their imagination during government questioning and the Judiciary Committee, but nothing was resolved." Hwang Hee, the ruling party floor leader, also retorted, "Regarding Minister Choo, it was not someone else but the People Power Party that reported to the prosecution, yet the prosecution did not even indict and dismissed the case," adding, "After the prosecution investigation resulted in dismissal, what more can be done by coming to the inspection session?"

As the ruling and opposition parties failed to reach a consensus on witness adoption, Min Hong-chul, chairman of the National Defense Committee, stepped in to mediate a resolution. Chairman Min said, "Let's first adopt the inspection plan and agree amicably on witness applications by the floor leaders of both parties by the 7th," to which lawmakers from both sides agreed, narrowly passing the National Assembly inspection plan and witness adoption proposal.

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