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[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Members of the special committee for the parliamentary inspection from the three opposition parties urged the People Power Party members who declared their resignation from the committee to return. They warned that if the members do not express their intention to return by today, the three opposition parties will proceed with the parliamentary inspection among themselves.

Members of the special committee from the three opposition parties held a press conference at the National Assembly on the 13th and stated, "The members of the special committee for the parliamentary inspection from the Democratic Party, Justice Party, and Basic Income Party, established to investigate the Yongsan Itaewon tragedy and prevent its recurrence, once again urge the People Power Party members to promptly return to the parliamentary inspection special committee."

They said, "On the 11th, the motion to dismiss Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min was passed with overwhelming support from 182 members, over 60%, in the National Assembly, but the Yoon Seok-yeol administration is still focused on 'protecting Lee Sang-min,' and the People Power Party members of the parliamentary inspection committee used this as a pretext to declare their resignation," adding, "The People Power Party not only shortened the parliamentary inspection period requested by the three opposition parties from 60 days to 45 days but also delayed the Itaewon tragedy parliamentary inspection by holding the national budget hostage, and for 20 days, they have not even properly negotiated the schedule."

They continued, "People Power Party members are even refusing to allow bereaved families or survivors to appear as witnesses or reference witnesses at the hearings," and said, "In the 2016 humidifier parliamentary inspection, three victim families were selected as reference witnesses. What exactly are the Yoon administration and People Power Party afraid of?"

They criticized the ruling party for opposing on-site investigations by the National Situation Room and Crisis Management Center. They also pointed out that the government is refusing to submit parliamentary inspection materials from almost all ministries, including the Presidential Office, National Security Office, and Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

The members collectively urged the ruling party members to return to the special committee, emphasizing, "If there is no declaration of intention to return to the parliamentary inspection by today, we will understand that all authority regarding the parliamentary inspection schedule and witness selection has been delegated to the three opposition parties, and we declare our intention to begin the full-scale parliamentary inspection starting tomorrow."

Kim Gyo-heung, the Democratic Party member and secretary of the opposition special committee, told reporters after the press conference, "Our three opposition parties have almost completed preparations as it is already the pre-investigation period," and explained, "However, we have not been able to announce or pass the overall meeting resolution because there is no agreement between the ruling and opposition parties, but preparations are complete." He also said, "I meet with the ruling party secretary almost daily for consultations," adding, "We will meet again today to discuss once more."

Yong Hye-in, a Basic Income Party member, said, "Almost half of the 45 days have passed, and even if the full investigation begins after the budget is processed, the fact that even preliminary discussions are not properly conducted strongly reflects the will of the People Power Party and President Yoon," directly stating, "The responsibility for the parliamentary inspection deadlock lies entirely with the People Power Party."

Jang Hye-young, a Justice Party member, also emphasized, "For this parliamentary inspection to be a complete investigation, the attendance of bereaved family members as witnesses and reference witnesses is essential," and stressed, "The public has the right to hear the testimonies of the bereaved families and survivors, and the bereaved families and survivors have the justification to speak in a public setting."

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