Minjoo Party Blasts Board of Audit and Inspection over 'West Sea Killing'... "Immediately Stop Shameless Political Audit" (Comprehensive)

Promotion of National Investigation and Review of Additional Prosecution Measures
Criticism of Public Investigation Without Audit Committee Resolution
Allegations of "Presidential Office Scenario" Political Audit

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] The opposition party has launched an all-out response, calling the Board of Audit and Inspection's request for prosecution of 20 individuals related to the 'West Sea Public Official Killing Incident' a "shameless political audit." The party leadership, the Political Oppression Countermeasures Committee, and current and former members of the National Defense Committee announced plans to respond with a state audit and additional legal actions against the Board of Audit and Inspection.

On the 14th, Park Hong-geun, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized at the party's Supreme Council meeting, "The Board of Audit and Inspection's surprise interim announcement is a rookie audit that cannot even distinguish between intelligence and information," adding, "If the Board of Audit and Inspection intends to request an investigation, it must present at least one piece of evidence proving that the official did not defect to the North."

The previous day, the Board of Audit and Inspection announced the interim audit results related to the late Lee Dae-jun, the public official killed in the West Sea incident, and requested prosecution for 20 individuals from five agencies involved at the time (the National Security Office, Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Unification, National Intelligence Service, and Korea Coast Guard) including former National Security Office Director Seo Hoon, former National Intelligence Service Director Park Ji-won, former Minister of National Defense Seo Wook, former Minister of Unification Lee In-young, and former Korea Coast Guard Commissioner Kim Hong-hee, on charges of dereliction of duty, abuse of authority, and falsification of official documents.

Floor leader Park urged the Board of Audit and Inspection to "immediately stop this shameless political audit aimed at covering up the administration's incompetence," and vowed to respond with all possible legal measures.

The Democratic Party raised procedural issues regarding the Board of Audit and Inspection's request for investigation. Park criticized the Board for publicly disclosing the investigation targets without the resolution of the Audit Committee, stating, "The prosecution and the Board of Audit and Inspection acted as if performing a wholehearted play according to the Presidential Office's scenario." Supreme Council member Ko Min-jung also explained, "Even during the 2010 Cheonan ship incident interim announcement, the Audit Committee's resolution was obtained before the announcement," adding, "Announcing unconfirmed matters constitutes the crime of disclosing facts about suspects."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

There was also a claim that all lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties agreed on the 'defection to the North' judgment during a closed session of the National Defense Committee immediately after the incident. On the morning of the same day, members of the Democratic Party's Political Oppression Countermeasures Committee held a press conference at the National Assembly, specifically referring to the minutes of the closed National Defense Committee meeting held on September 24, 2020, and repeatedly requested Lee Heon-seung, chairman of the National Defense Committee from the People Power Party, to disclose the minutes.

Committee member Kim Young-bae emphasized, "If the minutes are disclosed, many doubts will be resolved," adding, "Among the meeting contents, several senior lawmakers from the People Power Party who are former high-ranking generals stated, 'There is no reason to doubt the judgment that it was defection to the North,' and 'We trust the SI (Special Intelligence) obtained by our intelligence assets, so there is no reason for us to judge differently.'"

They announced plans to immediately push for a state audit on the Board of Audit and Inspection's constitutional violations and violations of the Board of Audit and Inspection Act, and to take additional legal actions on illegal matters. They also revealed plans to hold a nationwide public forum on June 19 regarding reform measures for the Board of Audit and Inspection and to propose amendments to the Board of Audit and Inspection Act as party legislation.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Criticism also arose that the very purpose of the Board of Audit and Inspection's audit was political agitation. On the same day, Democratic Party lawmakers from the Moon Jae-in administration's Blue House issued a statement criticizing, "The audit results are political agitation far from the truth from beginning to end." They added, "There is nothing new among the various facts detailed by the Board of Audit and Inspection," and "These are just the contents that the Moon administration disclosed to the National Assembly and the public at the time of the incident."

They urged, "The purpose of this audit is just to 'push the narrative,'" and warned, "Power agencies that serve power rather than the people will inevitably face a fierce storm of reform."

Additionally, the Democratic Party pointed out that related agencies such as the Ministry of National Defense, Korea Coast Guard, and National Intelligence Service conspired to reverse the 'defection to the North' judgment. In the afternoon, current and former National Defense Committee members from the Democratic Party held a press conference at the National Assembly, claiming that the Ministry of National Defense, Korea Coast Guard, and National Intelligence Service planned to reverse the defection judgment and conclude the investigation at the NSC meeting held shortly after President Yoon's inauguration.

They pointed out that the NSC working-level coordination meeting was attended by the first deputy director of the National Security Office, the deputy minister of National Defense, as well as the Korea Coast Guard Commissioner, investigation bureau chief, and National Intelligence Service Director, who are unrelated to the NSC. They also said that the Korea Coast Guard proposed to conclude the investigation and decided to suspend it, and that the Ministry of National Defense prepared a press release with additional explanations when the Korea Coast Guard announced the investigation results.

They questioned, "How could the Ministry of National Defense prepare the release knowing full well about the investigation's conclusion?" and criticized, "It was ultimately revealed that the Presidential Office's National Security Office led the related agencies to coordinate and decide the conclusion timing and align their statements. The Board of Audit and Inspection and the prosecution are merely subcontractors to dress up the President's office."

They also rebutted the Board of Audit and Inspection's announcement that the Ministry of National Defense and National Intelligence Service deleted 106 internal intelligence reports related to the incident, asking, "Among the materials the Board claims were deleted, is there any original document currently not in the hands of the Yoon administration? What exactly is the list of deleted materials?"

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