[2020 National Audit] Defense and Foreign Affairs Committees Turned Powder Kegs... Seo Wook: "North Korea Interferes with Our Search Operations"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Military Specialist Reporter Yang Nak-gyu, Reporter Lee Ji-eun] North Korea is reportedly threatening South Korea's military search operations related to the shooting death of a South Korean government official in the West Sea that occurred on the 22nd of last month.

On the 7th, Defense Minister Seo Wook stated in his opening remarks at the National Assembly National Defense Committee's audit of the Ministry of National Defense, "Although North Korea recently expressed apologies and a commitment to prevent recurrence regarding the death of our citizen in the West Sea, it has not responded to the joint investigation request and continues to threaten legitimate search operations in our waters, maintaining military tensions."

Minister Seo added, "The security situation surrounding the Korean Peninsula is more complex and unpredictable than ever. Our military is firmly maintaining military readiness against all-around security threats and is making every effort to ensure that no gaps occur in national security under any circumstances."

On this day, the first audit of the 21st National Assembly saw the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee and the National Defense Committee become battlegrounds. In the National Defense Committee, the ruling and opposition parties clashed over witness adoption related to Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae's son's military service issue and the Yeonpyeong Island shooting incident. In the Foreign Affairs Committee, controversies arose over Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha's husband, Yonsei University Honorary Professor Lee Il-byeong's 'yacht purchase' and departure. The controversy surrounding Cho Sung-gil, North Korea's charg? d'affaires to Italy, also rapidly escalated.

During the National Defense Committee audit, People Power Party lawmakers condemned the Democratic Party's refusal to adopt witnesses through procedural remarks. Han Ki-ho, the opposition party secretary of the National Defense Committee from the People Power Party, also expressed protest by not attending for two consecutive days. Lawmaker Shin Won-sik said, "Han's absence means there was no progress yesterday (at the National Defense Committee), and there is no roadmap such as reducing the number of witnesses to adopt them," adding, "Even if the meeting is delayed, the secretaries of both parties should communicate to advance discussions."

In response, Hwang Hee, the ruling party secretary from the Democratic Party, countered, "The prosecution has not even indicted the case (Minister Choo's case) that the People Power Party reported, so how can we proceed?" He also pointed out, "It is uncertain what role the (Yeonpyeong Island shooting incident victim's) brother would play as a witness, and there is concern about the exposure of special intelligence (SI)." Ultimately, the ruling and opposition parties failed to reach an agreement on witness adoption and started the audit without consensus.

The Ministry of National Defense, which faced difficulties due to suspicions surrounding Minister Choo's vacation, will begin improving the leave system for soldiers. In the work report submitted at the audit, the Ministry stated, "By the end of the year, considering the prosecution's investigation results related to Minister Choo's son and internally identified issues, we will revise the regulations."

The Ministry also assessed that North Korea is attempting to manage the situation while being conscious of South Korean public opinion regarding the West Sea government official shooting death incident. In the work report, regarding North Korea's trends toward the South, the Ministry stated, "North Korea is attempting to manage the situation toward the South, conscious of (South Korean) public opinion related to the West Sea citizen death incident." The Ministry cited North Korea's expression of regret through a notification one day after the government's demand for accountability as evidence.

Regarding North Korean military trends after the government official shooting incident, the Ministry reported, "No unusual trends have been identified, and efforts are focused on recovery from heavy rains and typhoon damage," adding, "Large-scale troops and equipment are being deployed in the Hwanghae, Gangwon, and Hamgyeong provinces to push for recovery before the Workers' Party founding day (October 10)." It also reported that the Yongbyon 5MWe reactor remains in a long-term shutdown state and no unusual activities have been identified around the Punggye-ri nuclear test site.

The ruling and opposition parties, which clashed over witness adoption related to Minister Choo, are also expected to confront each other over the yacht purchase incident involving Minister Kang's husband. Regarding Lawmaker Han's remark about Minister Kang's husband, saying, "Just living with Minister Kang until now is admirable," which seemed mocking, Park Sung-jun, the Democratic Party floor spokesperson, stated, "The party spokesperson will give a strong briefing," and "It was also mentioned at the highest-level meeting," indicating a plan for a strong response.

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