National Assembly Education Committee Adopts Numerous Witnesses for 'Kim Geon-hee Thesis Allegations'... Proceeding Despite Ruling Party's Opposition

Yoo Ki-hong "One of the principles of democracy is majority rule"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyun-joo] The National Assembly's Education Committee is facing controversy for adopting a large number of witnesses to verify First Lady Kim Geon-hee's 'thesis plagiarism allegations' during the national audit. Although Education Committee members from the People Power Party opposed this, the Democratic Party members pushed it through.

On the morning of the 23rd, the Education Committee held a plenary meeting and approved the agenda to summon witnesses for the national audit. The summoned general witnesses and reference persons include Lim Hong-jae, President of Kookmin University; Kim Ji-yong, Chairman of Kookmin University Board; Jang Yoon-geum, President of Sookmyung Women's University; Hong Seok-hwa, CEO of H Culture Technology; and Koo Yeon-sang, instructor of the Basic Liberal Arts Department at Sookmyung Women's University, totaling 11 people. All the adopted witnesses are related to the allegations concerning First Lady Kim's thesis plagiarism.

The resolution was carried out forcibly by Democratic Party members and independent lawmaker Min Hyung-bae. During the process of presenting and approving the agenda, Yoo Ki-hong, chairman of the Education Committee and a Democratic Party member, proceeded with a standing vote after People Power Party members protested.

Chairman Yoo said, "I appealed to the floor leaders of both parties to reach an agreement on the witness adoption, but it was not achieved. One of the principles of democracy is majority rule. When no agreement is reached, following the National Assembly Act and applying majority rule cannot be accepted as violence."

In response, People Power Party Education Committee members held an emergency press conference condemning the decision. Ruling party floor leader Lee Tae-gyu criticized, "Without any consultation or understanding with the ruling party responsible for state affairs, they unilaterally presented the witness summons agenda on-site, rushed it through by a quick vote, and hurriedly left as if fleeing in the dead of night. Today's behavior of the Democratic Party members resembled well-trained members of an organization."

Lee added, "The politics of majority power that ignores minorities is an act of violence and a dangerous threat to parliamentary democracy. The arbitrary and coercive quick adoption of witnesses is an anti-democratic outrage that we condemn and will never accept. Since the last presidential election, the Democratic Party has been repeatedly exploiting (the Kim controversy). We will never tolerate attempts to use this as a battleground for political strife."

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