Democrats Gain Momentum in Approval Ratings, Launch Fierce Audit Attacks Until Lee Jae-myung's Return

After the overwhelming victory in the by-election for the Mayor of Gangseo District, Seoul, the Democratic Party of Korea, gaining momentum, announced a major offensive during the National Assembly audit on the 17th. With Lee Jae-myung expected to return to party affairs as early as this week, it is interpreted as a move to firmly secure the initiative in the power struggle without giving any openings to the government and ruling party.

Hong Ik-pyo, the floor leader, urged for a special prosecutor during the National Assembly audit strategy meeting held at the National Assembly that morning, stating, "The truth about external pressure on the investigation into the death of Marine Corps soldier Chae Sang-byeong is coming to light." Hong criticized, "Despite calls for a shift in the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's national policy direction, the audit has remained unchanged for two weeks. The government consistently blames the previous administration for submitting inadequate materials, while the ruling party is only focused on defensive audits."

Regarding the suspicion of external pressure on the investigation into Chae Sang-byeong's death, he said, "The Ministry of National Defense is busy scapegoating. They also distributed a mysterious document regarding the investigation of the line-of-duty accident, which is essentially an investigation guideline," and requested the government and ruling party to "cooperate in revealing the truth through the designation of a fast-track bill."

He also continued the offensive on the 'Sunsal Apartment' issue. Hong said, "The incident of missing rebar in the underground parking lot of the Geomdan apartment in Incheon is increasing public anxiety," and added, "(The Democratic Party) will propose solutions through legislation."

Hong Ik-pyo, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the National Assembly's audit countermeasure meeting held on the 17th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

He then strongly warned about the National Intelligence Service's political interference suspicions. Referring to the NIS's press release the day before the Gangseo District Mayor by-election, which stated that the election commission's website was vulnerable to hacking, he mentioned, "I am very concerned about this behavior carried out under the pretext of the NIS inspecting election security."

On this day, the National Assembly conducted audits in 12 standing committees, including the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the Public Administration and Security Committee. During the Legislation and Judiciary Committee audit targeting 11 prosecutors' offices including the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, a fierce battle between the ruling and opposition parties continued over Lee Jae-myung's judicial risks. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office and Suwon District Prosecutors' Office are conducting investigations related to Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung. Also, in the Public Administration and Security Committee where the Gyeonggi Province audit is underway, the People Power Party unleashed strong attacks over allegations of Lee's misuse of corporate credit cards and support for inter-Korean cooperation projects.

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