Handonghun "Please Do Not Shout"... Legislation Committee, 'Yangpyeong Expressway' Ruling Party and Opposition Heated Debate

Handonghun "Is There Any Evidence of External Pressure?"

On the 26th, the ruling and opposition parties engaged in a heated debate at the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee over allegations of preferential treatment in the 'Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway' project.

Democratic Party lawmaker Park Beom-gye asked Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon, "As the Justice Minister under the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, what is your view on the expressway gate scandal?" In response, Minister Han said, "If the expressway suddenly changes to pass in front of your residence, should you be investigated?" He added, "Usually, an investigation only proceeds if there is some clue, such as a tip-off or a whistleblower indicating pressure was applied, or something similar," and continued, "you are speaking based on a feeling. Fundamentally, there must be at least some clue that external pressure was exerted."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding the question about the legal detention of President Yoon Seok-yeol's mother-in-law, Choi Eun-soon, he replied, "Unlike the Democratic Party, there was no attempt to interfere with the judicial system to make Vice Governor Lee Hwa-young retract her testimony throughout this trial," and added, "This proceeded within the judicial system." Lawmaker Park criticized this by saying, "That is a non sequitur response."

A tense exchange also occurred between Lawmaker Park and Minister Han. Minister Han told Park, "Please do not shout," and "I am not here to be lectured," to which Park retorted, "You are as light as a feather."

Democratic Party whip So Byung-chul also criticized Minister Han's attitude in his responses. He said, "This is a setting where a member of the National Assembly asks questions and a cabinet member answers, but it seems the roles are reversed," and requested, "Please refrain from evaluating, lecturing, or using metaphors when responding to questions."

On the other hand, People Power Party whip Jeong Jeom-sik defended Minister Han, saying, "There are circumstances in the Justice Minister's responses that limit how he can answer. For example, while many citizens express doubts about the 'change in the terminus of the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway,' many others question why this is a problem at all," and added, "Since most of the examples raised during the questioning are considered mere speculation, it is not appropriate to criticize the Justice Minister for his responses."

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