'Spy-Prosecutor Cartel'... Heated Debate Erupts at Presidential Office Audit

Suspicions of Wiretapping by US Presidential Office
Ruling Party: "Insulting Remarks... Strong Regret"
Chief Kim Dae-gi Responds to Prosecutor Cartel Allegation: "Less Than 1%"

On the 7th, during the National Assembly's audit of the Presidential Office, the ruling and opposition parties engaged in a heated debate over Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Byeong-ju's 'spy remark' regarding allegations of eavesdropping by the U.S. Presidential Office, and Democratic Party lawmaker Park Sang-hyuk's 'prosecutor cartel' comment related to high-ranking official appointments in the Yoon Seok-yeol administration.

During the morning session of the National Assembly Steering Committee's audit of the Presidential Office, Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Byeong-ju referred to the April allegations by U.S. media about eavesdropping by the U.S. government on the Presidential Office and the police's decision not to indict the U.S. Ambassador to Korea and the U.S. Forces Korea Commander, who were reported by civic groups, making a 'spy' remark.

Kim Dae-gi, Chief of Staff to the President, is taking the witness oath at the National Assembly Steering Committee's audit on the Presidential Secretariat, National Security Office, and Presidential Security Service held on the 7th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Kim said, "According to the non-indictment decision document, the Presidential Office completely denied the U.S. eavesdropping allegations, including leaks of the National Security Council (NSC) meetings, stating that it was not SIGINT (intelligence gathering through advanced equipment) but HUMINT (intelligence gathering through human contact)." He added, "If the information leaked was not from SIGINT but from a person, that is a bigger problem. That is espionage. In my view, there is a spy among those sitting here."

The ruling party and the Presidential Office immediately reacted against Kim's remarks. Kim Seong-won, the ruling People Power Party's whip, said during a procedural speech, "Opposition members can question on behalf of the people, but they should be refined and not cross certain lines," and criticized, "Saying there is a spy in the Presidential Office is a serious expression." Cho Tae-yong, Director of the National Security Office, also rebutted, "It does not seem appropriate to say such things about a person."

People Power Party lawmaker Jeon Ju-hye called it "an insulting remark," criticizing, "It is very inappropriate to conclude that HUMINT is in the Presidential Office based on a single non-indictment decision document and to claim there is a spy in the Presidential Office based on such a wrong assumption. I express strong regret." Director Cho Tae-yong agreed after Jeon’s remarks, saying, "Saying such things about individuals is insulting, and saying that about the Presidential Secretary Office and Security Office staff who assist the President is an even bigger problem."

As opposition from the Presidential Office and the ruling party intensified, Kim Byeong-ju reiterated, "Whether the information goes to North Korea, China, Russia, or the U.S., leaking our information is espionage," and added, "The police investigation results are being cited, but viewing me as a slanderer is ignoring the rule of law, even though lawmaker Jeon Ju-hye is a legal professional."

There were also criticisms labeling the Yoon Seok-yeol administration as a prosecutor cartel. Lawmaker Park Sang-hyuk criticized, "The Yoon Seok-yeol government is literally a prosecutor cartel government with over 100 prosecutors positioned." In response, Kim Dae-gi, Chief of Staff to the President, said, "Even looking at the Presidential Office, there is not a single senior official who is a former prosecutor. In the cabinet’s 'big three'?the Prime Minister, Chief of Staff, and National Security Office Director?there is not a single one either." He continued, "There are a few secretaries, and upon checking, among public institution executives, 34 are prosecutors or have prosecutorial backgrounds, but only 18 were appointed by the current government, and the rest were appointed by the previous administration and remain. Prosecutors make up less than 1%. It is the same as under the Moon Jae-in government."

There was also a debate over the Yoon Seok-yeol administration’s policy stance on sound fiscal management. Democratic Party lawmaker Kang Jun-hyun criticized, "In the past year and a half, personnel, diplomacy, livelihood, and finance have all been in ruins," adding, "There are many economic risk factors such as low growth, a super-aged society, and household debt, but the real big crisis overshadowing the Korean economy is the President’s ideological politics." Kim Dae-gi responded, "It is hard to agree that the economy is difficult because of ideology," and said, "Despite record-level tax revenue declines, the so-called rich tax cuts that the opposition calls out amount to about 2 trillion won, and the rest is analyzed as due to the global economic downturn."

Meanwhile, opposition lawmakers expressed dissatisfaction with the insufficient submission of materials by the Presidential Office and others, and the failure to adopt witnesses. Lawmaker Park Sang-hyuk raised an issue, saying, "We requested data on the hometowns and high schools of high-ranking officials and heads of public institutions, but there was no response regarding high-ranking officials, and the Presidential Secretariat said they do not have data on public institution heads and kindly sent the address of the 'Alio (Public Institution Management Information Disclosure System)' website." Lawmaker Joo Cheol-hyun also criticized, "Despite the Steering Committee’s resolution, the Presidential Secretariat refused to submit countless materials," and added, "It is absolutely unacceptable that even the cost data for dinners officially hosted by the President was refused."

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