Starting Today, Government Questioning... Opposition: "Government Disorder" VS Ruling Party: "Presidential Election Political Manipulation"

The ruling and opposition parties are expected to engage in fierce battles during the four-day government questioning sessions starting on the 5th with the political sector. On the first day of the government questioning, the opposition party is expected to launch a relentless offensive on issues such as the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan, the relocation of the bust of independence activist General Hong Beom-do, and suspicions of external pressure in the Chae Il-byeong incident. Meanwhile, the ruling party countered by calling the media interview that raised suspicions about President Yoon Seok-yeol’s involvement in the Daejang-dong incident during last year’s presidential election a "presidential election political conspiracy."

On this day, the Democratic Party, with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min, Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon, and Minister of Unification Kim Young-ho attending, announced plans to pose pointed questions to them. Prime Minister Han is expected to be intensely questioned about the government’s response to the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Given that the discharge is expected to continue for the next 30 years, the plan is to scrutinize the government’s stance on domestic fisheries damage and neighboring countries’ bans on importing Japanese seafood.

Minister Lee Sang-min is likely to repeatedly highlight the Yoon Seok-yeol administration’s mismanagement of state affairs, as seen in the Jamboree incident and the Osong disaster. Despite being in office for over a year and four months, questions remain about why the administration continues to cover up failures by blaming the previous government and the reasons for excessive investigations into the leader of the main opposition party. As political debates surrounding General Hong Beom-do have intensified recently, the party plans to meticulously examine the historical basis regarding General Hong’s Communist Party membership and involvement in the Free City Incident, as well as the legal validity of relocating his bust within the Korea Military Academy and renaming the Hong Beom-do ship. Kim Han-gyu, the Democratic Party’s floor spokesperson, told reporters after the morning floor strategy meeting that "the government questioning will emphasize the overall renewal of state affairs." He explained, "The problems are not limited to specific ministries or issues; there are serious problems across the board," adding, "We will emphasize the issues throughout the government and stress that this administration must strive for comprehensive reform."

On the other hand, the ruling party launched a crossfire targeting the opposition, based on claims by Kim Man-bae, the main culprit in the Daejang-dong incident, that "fake news" was created to shift the direction of the Daejang-dong suspicions from Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung to People Power Party candidate Yoon Seok-yeol. A senior official from the presidential office said in a briefing that morning, "It is hard to dismiss the suspicion that this was a fabricated attempt to portray Yoon Seok-yeol as the mastermind of the Daejang-dong gate and to change the election results by releasing the recordings three days before the presidential election," calling it "an unprecedented presidential election political conspiracy involving the main culprit of Daejang-dong and media personnel." Yoon Jae-ok, the People Power Party floor leader, also emphasized at the National Assembly floor strategy meeting that day, "Even before this false interview came out, Lee Jae-myung was trying to raise the issue by citing the Busan Savings Bank incident and claiming Yoon Seok-yeol was the mastermind," adding, "A thorough investigation must uncover the masterminds behind this political conspiracy and identify those who conspired and colluded."

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