Rivals wrangle over hearings on energy diplomacy

By Jun Ji-hye

The ruling and opposition parties are wrangling over who will appear before the National Assembly to be questioned about the failed “energy diplomacy” under the previous Lee Myung-bak government.

They were set to wrap up the relevant talks by Monday so they could hold hearings from next Tuesday.

But the partisan dispute will likely delay the hearings, posing a setback to the parliamentary investigation to uncover the outflow of national wealth during Lee’s energy diplomacy.

At the center of contention is whether the former President should appear.

The main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) wants Lee and his core aides to be called in, while the ruling Saenuri Party claims that such a request is just a political offensive.

Rep. Hong Young-pyo of the NPAD said Tuesday, “Lee himself signed 28 memorandums of understanding when pushing for the energy diplomacy. The opposition party has questioned their dubious approach many times.”

NPAD floor leader Rep. Woo Yoon-keun echoed those sentiments, saying, “Lee is a core witness who has to be questioned.”

He argued that the governing party is going against the Park Geun-hye government’s drive to eradicate corruption.

On the other hand, Rep. Kim Moo-sung, chairman of the ruling party, called the opposition’s request to call Lee a “foolish act” that would spoil the investigative mood.

Rep. Kweon Seong-dong said, “The NPAD is thoughtlessly attacking Lee by warning of boycotting the hearings if the governing camp does not agree on bringing him into the session.”

The two parties are locking horns over whether Rep. Moon Jae-in, the NPAD chairman, also should be questioned.

The ruling party wants Moon to appear before the hearings over alleged stock manipulation by aides of late President Roh Moo-hyun, when the Roh government pushed for overseas resource development projects.

Moon was Roh’s close confidant because he served as chief of staff under the Roh administration.

The NPAD denied the request from the ruling party, calling it an attempt to water down various suspicions surrounding the Lee government.

While in office from 2008-2013, Lee “ambitiously” sought to secure energy assets around the globe in a bid to enhance the nation’s energy self-reliance. This led state-run energy companies, including the Korea National Oil Corp., Korea Gas Corp. and the Korea Resources Corp. to waste tens of millions of dollars on overseas energy resource projects.

One of the major cases was the oil firm’s failed investment in Harvest Operations, a Canadian oil producer, and its money-losing refinery, North Atlantic Refining Limited (NARL), which resulted in losses of $1.5 billion.

Those who led the botched initiative include Lee’s older brother and former lawmaker Lee Sang-deuk.

The parties agreed to conduct a 100-day parliamentary investigation at the end of December.

Follow Jun Ji-hye on Twitter @TheKopJihye