From the Start of the Land Committee, Clash with Yangpyeong Province... "Won Hee-ryong Should Apologize" vs "Political Offensive"

Opposition: "Deceptive Data Disclosure Ignores National Assembly... Minister Must Apologize"
Won Hee-ryong: "Opposition's Former and Current Leaders Who Brought False Agitation Should Apologize First"

On the 26th, during the full meeting of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, the ruling and opposition parties clashed head-on from the outset over allegations of preferential treatment related to the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway as they began questioning current issues. Opposition lawmakers demanded an apology, criticizing the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) for submitting insincere data, but Minister Won Hee-ryong refused, stating, “There is nothing to apologize for.”

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong is responding to questions from lawmakers at the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee plenary meeting held at the National Assembly on the 26th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee held a full meeting that morning, planning to conduct a briefing and questioning session with Minister Won Hee-ryong regarding the complete cancellation of the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway. Even before the official questioning began, the Democratic Party sharply criticized the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for submitting inadequate data, leading to a sharp confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties.

Choi In-ho, the opposition party’s floor leader and a Democratic Party lawmaker, pointed out, “The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport did not submit key data for the past two weeks and suddenly disclosed the data last Sunday,” adding, “The Ministry’s claim that the data did not exist is a lie they have admitted themselves.”

Choi further stated, “The process and content of the data disclosure only intensified suspicions of preferential treatment rather than resolving them,” and argued, “The Ministry’s data disclosure is nothing more than a public deception show.”

Democratic Party lawmaker Park Sang-hyuk also criticized, saying, “We requested specific data but did not receive it. It is not even disclosed on the website,” and added, “The claim that the Ministry disclosed all data is a lie.” Another lawmaker from the same party, Han Jun-ho, criticized Minister Won’s attitude, saying, “The demand for an apology from the minister is a matter of overall attitude.”

Kim Min-ki, chairman of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, also joined in. Chairman Kim said, “The data that was said not to exist for committee members was actually disclosed on the website, which means the Ministry lied,” and pressed Minister Won Hee-ryong again for an apology.

However, Minister Won rejected the opposition’s demand for an apology, saying, “It is out of order to demand an apology before the briefing even starts,” and countered, “If anyone should apologize, it is the former and current Democratic Party leaders who have driven this situation into false agitation.” Opposition lawmakers protested loudly in response.

Minister Won continued, “This situation escalated because former leader Lee Hae-chan suddenly raised allegations of preferential treatment related to the expressway’s terminus change in June,” and claimed, “Representative Lee Jae-myung even formed a task force and effectively gave instructions on this matter.”

The People Power Party came to Minister Won’s defense. Kim Jung-jae, the ruling party’s floor leader in the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, said, “The purpose of holding the standing committee was to clarify the facts objectively based on data,” and added, “If political attacks occur before the session even begins, the committee cannot proceed in a scientific and objective direction.”

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