Adoption of Party Resolution for 'National Audit After Budget Bill Approval'... Approved at General Assembly

Lawmakers Urge "Do Not Make Too Many Concessions in Negotiations"
Whether to Include the Presidential Office in the Investigation Scope Left as a "Negotiation"

Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party, is attending a party meeting held at the National Assembly on the 23rd and delivering opening remarks. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kum Bo-ryeong] The People Power Party has reached a consensus to conduct a parliamentary audit after passing the budget bill. This marks a shift from their initial stance of "conducting a parliamentary audit if the investigation results are insufficient."

On the morning of the 23rd, after a party meeting at the National Assembly, Joo Ho-young, the floor leader of the People Power Party, told reporters, "As proposed by the Democratic Party and as we requested, if a substantive parliamentary audit is conducted after the budget bill is passed, we have decided to delegate that matter to the floor leadership." He added, "Regarding the specific requirements or plans for the parliamentary audit, the floor leadership will be delegated to negotiate, but there was an order not to make too many concessions during the negotiations."

Regarding this, Chung Jin-suk, the emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, also said in his remarks at the party meeting, "Regardless of the results of the special investigation team, I believe the Democratic Party will push for the parliamentary audit and will not give up." He continued, "If the timing of the budget approval and the announcement of the special investigation team’s results are not significantly different, I think there is no reason for us to avoid agreeing on the parliamentary audit after the budget approval."

At the party meeting that day, there were also opinions to check the investigation results first and conduct a parliamentary audit if they were insufficient, as per the original position. However, it is understood that they accepted the reality that the Democratic Party, which holds an overwhelming number of seats, can unilaterally decide to conduct the parliamentary audit.

People Power Party lawmakers reportedly urged Floor Leader Joo not to be "dragged along." Joo explained, "There was a request for negotiation guidelines to boldly conduct the parliamentary audit within the scope of uncovering the truth but to firmly reject any parliamentary audit that turns into a political fight."

However, the scope of the parliamentary audit, such as whether to include the Presidential Office or how to select the special committee members, has not yet been definitively resolved. Floor Leader Joo said, "We cannot be completely led by the Democratic Party’s demands. If conditions are not met, we may not conduct the parliamentary audit." He added, "It is true that opinions have come closer, but we cannot accept demands that do not align with the principles of the parliamentary audit or are excessive. The remaining issues will now be negotiated among the deputy floor leaders."

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