Presidential Office Responds to Opposition's 'Lee Sang-min Dismissal Proposal' with "Is There an Intention for a State Audit?"

Reiterating Opposition to Dismissal Proposal and Priority on Fact-Finding
Regarding Possible Boycott of State Audit, "It Must Proceed According to Its Original Purpose"

On the 16th, one day before President Yoon Suk-yeol's 100th day in office, the Presidential Office building in Yongsan-gu, Seoul is shown. President Yoon, emphasizing the elimination of authoritarianism, moved the seat of government from the former Blue House to Yongsan. With the president's office relocated to Yongsan, the Blue House has been fully opened to the public. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] On the 30th, the Presidential Office responded to the Democratic Party of Korea's decision to propose a motion to dismiss Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min by stating, "We want to ask whether there is an intention to conduct a national audit." This statement, which reflects opposition to the dismissal motion and reiterates the existing policy that fact-finding must come first, effectively strengthens the possibility of boycotting the national audit.

A Presidential Office official met with reporters at the Yongsan Presidential Office building in the afternoon and referred to Minister Lee as "the minister who is effectively specified as the subject of investigation necessary for fact-finding in the national audit plan," commenting on the Democratic Party's official plan to process the dismissal motion against him.

In particular, the official explained, "Both the National Assembly and the government need to make efforts to eliminate the grievances of the bereaved families and victims, which is the original purpose of the investigation." He reiterated the Presidential Office's existing stance, saying, "Demanding Minister Lee's dismissal first could be perceived as having already reached a conclusion before the fact-finding through the national audit, and in that regard, the public might find it puzzling."

Regarding the possibility of boycotting the national audit, he said, "Since it is already an agreed matter between the ruling and opposition parties, we respect the decision of the National Assembly," but added, "We hope the national audit will proceed in a manner that aligns with the wishes of the bereaved families and victims, ensuring that grief is not exploited for political purposes, in accordance with the original intent of the investigation."

Earlier, the Democratic Party decided in the afternoon to propose a motion to dismiss Minister Lee Sang-min in relation to the Itaewon tragedy. The Democratic Party stated that if Minister Lee does not voluntarily resign after the dismissal motion is passed or if President Yoon Seok-yeol refuses to dismiss him, they plan to propose an impeachment motion against Minister Lee next week. Floor Leader Park Hong-geun said to reporters at the National Assembly, "As the government official responsible for disaster safety prevention and management, Minister Lee's mistakes are clear," and added, "As long as the minister, who holds the authority over senior police and fire officials, keeps his eyes wide open, proper submission of materials and testimony is impossible. Minister Lee must step down for a thorough national audit and police investigation."

Meanwhile, the Presidential Office Administrative Appeals Committee dismissed a request from a civic group to disclose special activity expenses, including movie viewing expenses of President Yoon and his spouse, under the 'Request for Disclosure of Special Activity Expenses and Related Information' on the same day. The Presidential Office spokesperson's office announced this decision and stated, "The applicant is guaranteed the legal right to file an administrative lawsuit within 90 days." The Administrative Appeals Committee cited as reasons for dismissal that "if individual receipts related to the president's movements are disclosed, the scale of the entourage and travel routes could be exposed, causing national security and security issues, and for the same reasons, such information has been kept confidential by successive governments."

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