"Lee Jae-myung's National Assembly Audit Attendance"... Ruling and Opposition Parties Clash Over Data Submission and Witness Adoption

People Power Party Directly Visits Gyeonggi Provincial Government
Demands Submission of Documents...Expresses Complaints
Democratic Party "People Power Party Construction Corruption"

Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, who was selected as the 20th presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, is holding an urgent press conference on current issues at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Office in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province on the afternoon of the 12th. 2021.10.12
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy reporters Hyunju Lee and Chae-eun Koo] Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, announced that he would attend the National Assembly audit, but conflicts between the ruling and opposition parties continued over the submission of materials and the adoption of witnesses. On the 13th, the People Power Party directly visited Gyeonggi Provincial Office and Seongnam City Hall to demand the submission of materials, while the Democratic Party urged to stop the political confrontation during the audit.

About ten members of the People Power Party visited Gyeonggi Provincial Office and Seongnam City Hall in succession with requests for information disclosure. Since Gyeonggi Province and Seongnam City did not respond at all to the submission of materials related to the audit, they went in person to express their dissatisfaction. According to the People Power Party, the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee submitted 82 cases, the Political Affairs Committee 56 cases, and the Public Administration and Security Committee 76 cases related to the Daejang-dong development, but they did not receive a single piece of material. They also expressed opposition, saying that the ruling party is not cooperating at all in the adoption of witnesses.

At Gyeonggi Provincial Office, People Power Party lawmakers met with Oh Byung-kwon, the first deputy governor of Gyeonggi Province, who took office on the 8th, as candidate Lee was not present. Kim Do-eup, the chairman of the Policy Committee, pointed out, "Candidate Lee announced that he would undergo the National Assembly audit, but (Gyeonggi Provincial Office and Seongnam City Hall) have not submitted a single meaningful piece of material, so we cannot help but doubt the sincerity." Park Wan-soo, the opposition party secretary of the Public Administration and Security Committee, also questioned, "If you ignore the National Assembly and become president, how will you lead the country? What is the problem with not submitting a single piece of material?" Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party, also said on KBS Radio that day, "Seongnam City Hall is not very cooperative in submitting materials," adding, "How can we talk based on guesswork like touching an elephant's leg when there are no materials?"

On the morning of the 13th, Kim Do-eup, Chairman of the Policy Committee, and members of the People Power Party from the National Assembly's Political Affairs, Public Administration, and Land Committees visited Gyeonggi Provincial Government in Paldal-gu, Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, to protest the non-cooperation in submitting data by Gyeonggi Province and Seongnam City during the 2021 National Audit. 2021.10.13 Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group [Image source=Yonhap News]

However, the Democratic Party dismissed this as "a bombshell demand for materials for political confrontation." Han Byung-do, the senior deputy floor leader, said at the "People Power Party Political Confrontation Suspension Urging Press Conference" that day, "The People Power Party has entered full political confrontation mode. Since it has become all about Lee Jae-myung's audit, they are not paying attention to government audits or people's livelihoods, and only slanderous political confrontations are rampant."

Along with this, the Democratic Party is defining the Daejang-dong preferential treatment allegations as "People Power Party construction corruption" and is turning the direction of the attack toward the opposition. Jeong Seong-ho, a close aide of candidate Lee and a Democratic Party lawmaker, said on the radio that day, "Ultimately, it is most important to clarify where the money went and where it came from. You just have to trace that line. As the investigation proceeds in that direction, the truth will be revealed."

The Democratic Party leadership is focusing its offensive on the fact that former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl was the chief prosecutor in charge of the Busan Savings Bank case in 2011, which involved a 110 billion won bad loan for the Daejang-dong development. Song Young-gil, the party leader, said at the Supreme Council meeting that day, "At that time, the bad loan was used as initial costs for Daejang-dong, and suspicions of collusion among Yoon Seok-youl, Kim Man-bae, and Park Young-soo were rooted in the construction corruption," adding, "We will thoroughly investigate the collusion between prosecutors-turned-lawyers' legal corruption and real estate brokers." In addition, Song announced the formation of a separate organization, the "People Power Party Construction Corruption Truth-finding Task Force (TF)," for counterattack purposes.

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