Lee Chae-ik: "The National Audit Will Become a Way to Dilute the 'Lee Jae-myung Risk'"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] On the 23rd, the People Power Party held a party meeting and decided as a party stance to conduct a state audit on the Itaewon incident after processing the budget. However, some within the party still voiced that "the state audit should be conducted after the police investigation is completed."

Lee Chae-ik, a People Power Party lawmaker and chairman of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee, met with reporters during the party meeting and said, "With 500 police officers currently conducting a forced investigation, would the state audit be properly conducted if held now?"

He added, "What is being proposed now would rather interfere with the investigation," and said, "It is not too late to conduct it after the investigation is finished."

Lee said, "In the past, this would have been an investigation by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, but wasn't the Democratic Party the one pushing for 검수완박 (complete removal of prosecutorial investigation rights)?" He added, "Since the Democratic Party gave all investigative authority to the police, it is appropriate to observe the police investigation. What the Democratic Party is saying now is self-contradictory and inconsistent."

He continued, "If the state audit is conducted while the investigation is ongoing, everyone will respond that 'it is difficult to answer because it is an ongoing investigation,' and all answers will be like that," adding, "Ultimately, the state audit will inevitably turn into a political issue and a highly strategic method to divert attention from Lee Jae-myung's judicial risks."

Lee also said that many lawmakers within the party have doubts about the state audit. He said, "Lawmakers have significant doubts about whether this is the right time for a state audit," and "As you know, since the current political situation is a minority government, we face various difficulties, but fundamentally, many lawmakers hold such thoughts."

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