Yongho Lee: "Consensus Reached on Establishing Political Affairs Minister... Need Institution to Deal with Opposition if Political Affairs Secretary Abolished"

Appointment of Audit Committee Members in Moon Jae-in Government Called 'Albakgi' Claim

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Lee Yong-ho, a member of the People Power Party and secretary of the Political, Judicial, and Administrative Subcommittee of the Presidential Transition Committee, stated on the 25th that "a consensus has been reached regarding the establishment of a Minister of Political Affairs." This means that if the position of Senior Secretary for Political Affairs is eliminated in the Presidential Office, a Minister of Political Affairs position could be introduced.

On the same day, Lee appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' and said, "(President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol) is planning to reduce the number of senior secretaries in the Blue House to create a smaller Blue House, and by eliminating senior secretaries, the president can delegate authority to ministers." He added, "If senior secretaries remain, it appears that all ministers are under the senior secretaries. Therefore, if the Senior Secretary for Political Affairs is removed, there needs to be an institution that can persuade and seek cooperation from the ruling party, which is a large opposition party." He continued, "I think there is some level of consensus on this."

If the Senior Secretary for Political Affairs and others disappear, a Minister of Political Affairs is necessary to deal with the Democratic Party of Korea, which holds 172 seats, a majority in the National Assembly.

Lee also expressed the view that it is 'wrong' for the Moon Jae-in administration to make appointments regarding the Audit Committee members, an issue causing friction between the Blue House and the Transition Committee.

He said, "Looking at the personnel structure of the Board of Audit and Inspection, there are seven members in total; currently, five members are serving, and two seats are vacant, with three pro-government figures among them." He added, "If only one of the two vacant seats is appointed by the current administration, the outgoing administration is setting the majority before leaving. In other words, they are 'staking a claim' before departing." He criticized, "If the outgoing administration appoints members, would those members actively audit the previous administration if there were any issues?"

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