Democratic and Justice Parties Join Hands on 'State Audit', "Persuading Ruling Party as Much as Possible by Next Week"

Park Hong-geun "If not persuaded by early next week, will submit demands with Justice Party and independents"
Lee Eun-ju "Presidential Office, Ministry of Interior and Safety, Police, Seoul City, Yongsan-gu among 5 essential agencies for national audit"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] The Democratic Party and the Justice Party reaffirmed the necessity of a parliamentary inquiry into the 'Itaewon tragedy' on the 4th and urged the ruling party, the People Power Party, to cooperate.

On the day, Park Hong-geun, floor leader of the Democratic Party, and Lee Eun-joo, floor leader of the Justice Party, spoke in unison about pushing forward the parliamentary inquiry during their meeting.

In his opening remarks, Floor Leader Park said, "Today, I came to meet Floor Leader Lee Eun-joo to unite our efforts to hold those responsible for the Itaewon tragedy accountable," adding, "The Justice Party proposed the parliamentary inquiry first, and yesterday the Democratic Party also readily agreed."

He continued, "We requested the People Power Party's consent for the parliamentary inquiry, but they effectively refused," emphasizing, "We will continue to persuade the People Power Party until early next week, but if persuasion fails, the Democratic Party will join forces with the Justice Party and independent lawmakers to submit the parliamentary inquiry request by next week at the latest."

Floor Leader Lee also stated, "With the Democratic Party responding positively to the parliamentary inquiry proposed by the Justice Party and me, discussions have accelerated," explaining, "What is important is to agree on the precise direction and principles for fact-finding." He added, "The Justice Party considers five institutions?the Presidential Office, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, police, Seoul Metropolitan Government, and Yongsan District Office?as essential targets for the parliamentary inquiry."

He pointed out, "The executive branch and police, who responded belatedly and chaotically in the initial phase, as well as the Presidential Office overseeing them, cannot escape responsibility," and criticized, "Despite the clear anticipation of a massive crowd at the first no-mask festival in three years, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Yongsan District Office failed to establish safety measures, and their responsibility must also be clearly investigated."

As the Democratic Party and the Justice Party have united in pushing for the parliamentary inquiry, pressure on the People Power Party is expected to gradually increase.

Floor Leader Lee sharply criticized, "If the People Power Party tries to delay and stall like they did during the Sewol ferry disaster, it means they are abandoning their duties as the ruling party," while Floor Leader Park told reporters after the meeting, "I will urge the People Power Party to join us by this weekend or early next week."

In particular, Floor Leader Park said, "If the People Power Party ultimately refuses to participate, we will have no choice but to submit the parliamentary inquiry request first with the Democratic Party, Justice Party, and independent lawmakers."

However, the possibility of acceptance by the People Power Party remains open.

In response to reporters' questions about whether the ruling party seems unwilling to cooperate, Floor Leader Park said, "Don't get ahead of yourselves," adding, "Floor Leader Joo Ho-young has responded with a tone that seems to leave the door open. Although confusion is clearly evident on their side, where is the politics that can overcome public sentiment? I am confident that Floor Leader Joo and the People Power Party lawmakers will eventually have no choice but to accept the parliamentary inquiry."

Earlier that day, Floor Leader Joo Ho-young of the People Power Party, who met with the Justice Party floor leaders an hour before the Democratic Party meeting, said, "We are not excluding or refusing a parliamentary inquiry." However, he maintained a reserved stance, saying, "Looking at past parliamentary inquiries, there are no coercive measures, so it is difficult to reveal new information compared to investigations," and added, "If we mix the parliamentary inquiry with the ongoing investigation immediately, it could cause confusion and problems."

The Democratic Party and the Justice Party plan to make every effort to persuade the People Power Party by next week so that both ruling and opposition parties can jointly submit and push forward the parliamentary inquiry request.

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