Budget Committee 'Accusation Referral' Dispute.. Opposition Urges "Refrain from Questioning," Ruling Party Says "Leave It to Lawmakers' Judgment"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] On the 7th, the ruling and opposition parties clashed over the allegations of former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol's 'report solicitation' during the National Assembly Budget and Accounts Special Committee meeting.

Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Han-jung questioned Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye about whether a proper investigation into the related allegations was being conducted. Lawmaker Kim said regarding Son Jun-sung, the Daegu High Prosecutors' Office Human Rights Protection Officer (former head of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Investigation Information Policy Division), who is suspected to be the initial deliverer of the report, "He is an active prosecutor and a senior official, and was a key aide to former Prosecutor General Yoon," and asked, "Since it is a matter of obtaining and investigating Son's mobile phone, why has this not been done?"

Minister Park responded, "Since People Power Party lawmaker Kim Woong and Prosecutor Son, who appeared in the reports, have either fully or partially denied the related allegations, I think we will soon have to conclude that the current fact-finding investigation, which is equivalent to an internal inspection, is insufficient," adding, "If there are limitations under such premises, it may be necessary to switch to a formal investigation."

In response, Lee Man-hee, the opposition party's secretary of the Budget Committee from the People Power Party, requested a procedural statement to protest. Lawmaker Lee said, "This place is for dealing with policies related to budget and accounts," and added, "Statements related to our party's prominent candidate could mislead the public into thinking they are established facts." He continued, "Lawmaker Kim Woong himself said he wrote it and that it has nothing to do with former Prosecutor General Yoon, and Prosecutor Son has completely denied the content," and further stated, "Would they say such things so confidently if forensic or other internal investigations would reveal everything? Therefore, this content smells like a fabrication and seems to have been planned by someone."

The Democratic Party rebutted. Ruling party secretary and Democratic Party lawmaker Maeng Sung-kyu said, "Since this is a process of questioning the government about policies, it is a matter of requesting factual information," and criticized, "I find it difficult to understand what the problem is." He added, "It should be allowed to proceed based on each committee member's judgment."

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