Not Preparing for the National Audit...? Another Breakdown in the Science and ICT Committee

Jeong Cheong-rae, Supreme Council Member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 5th, making remarks related to First Lady Kim Geon-hee's stock manipulation case. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] The National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Communications Committee (STIBC) continues to face deadlock between the ruling and opposition parties over committee operations. The STIBC is scheduled to hold a plenary session on the 7th. However, members of the People Power Party (PPP), who have boycotted meetings in protest of the chairperson Jeong Cheong-rae's management style, plan to again abstain from attending the plenary session. This marks the fifth disruption since the second half of the National Assembly convened in July. The prolonged suspension of STIBC activities is raising concerns that the October government audit schedule may also be affected.

According to the National Assembly on the 7th, the STIBC will hold a plenary session at 3 p.m. to deliberate and decide on the appointment of the ruling party's floor leader and 49 bills. Park Seong-jung, the PPP floor leader nominee, has yet to complete the appointment process. A committee official affiliated with the STIBC said, "Although this is the first plenary session since the start of the regular session, the PPP members decided not to attend the meeting after discussions yesterday," adding, "It is a difficult situation unless Chairperson Jeong's unilateral attitude changes."

Both parties are repeatedly accusing each other of violating the National Assembly Act, resulting in a stalemate. The PPP protests Chairperson Jeong's autocratic management of the STIBC, while the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) insists it is following proper procedures. Since the formation of the second half of the National Assembly on July 22, plenary sessions were held on July 27, 29, and August 18, but only DPK members and independent lawmaker Park Wan-joo attended, resulting in "half meetings." At the plenary session on the 24th, Minister of Science and ICT Lee Jong-ho and officials from the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, who were summoned as witnesses, also did not attend, prolonging the deadlock. Furthermore, Chairperson Jeong Cheong-rae, recently elected as a party supreme council member, has expressed his intention to retain the STIBC chairmanship, breaking National Assembly conventions and escalating the conflict between the ruling and opposition parties.

The information and communications industry is focusing on legislative discussions aimed at preventing free-riding on networks by global content providers (CPs). However, due to the prolonged power struggle between the ruling and opposition parties, key ICT industry issues and major bills have not even been discussed. Both parties agree on the need to improve the system related to network usage fees, but the intense standoff in the STIBC has prevented proper public hearings from being held.

An official from a lawmaker's office affiliated with the STIBC said, "We need to set legislative tasks along with urgent livelihood bills, but we cannot even get past the committee threshold," adding, "We are unable to discuss witness appointments ahead of the government audit."

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