Top presidential aides to appear at Assembly
President Moon Jae-in, right, walks into a room inside Cheong Wa Dae for a tea meeting with new Supreme Court justice Kim Sang-hwan after giving him a letter of appointment at the presidential office on Dec. 28. Yonhap
By Kim Yoo-chul
President Moon Jae-in has ordered his chief of staff Im Jong-seok and senior civil affairs secretary Cho Kuk to appear at the National Assembly on Dec. 31 to explain Cheong Wa Dae's stance on allegations that the administration abused its power to conduct surveillance on private citizens.
“At the request of opposition parties, Moon ordered Im and Cho to appear at the Assembly, Monday. The decision came after the Assembly passed a revised bill aimed at strengthening industrial safety measures amid growing public anger over the recent death of a young worker at a thermal power plant,” a senior Cheong Wa Dae official said, Friday.
“As the President wants to apply the revised bill as quickly as possible for the safety of low-paid and contract workers, which would mandate companies to accept punishment in the event of industrial accidents, Moon ordered his top confidants to make it clear that the presidential office was not involved in improper activity on an organizational level,” the official said.
Floor leaders at the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) agreed to hold a session at the Assembly to listen to Im and Cho's comments on the issue.
Top South Korean investigators visited the presidential compound late Wednesday to collect evidence related to the allegations after Kim Tae-woo, a former member of Cheong Wa Dae's special inspection team, told the local media he was ordered to collect information on people which the presidential office put into a “watch list.”
Kim claimed his team tracked the bank transaction histories and other private affairs of high-profile government officials. Kim voiced that he had been forced to leave the team after his report was denied that current Ambassador to Russia Woo Yoon-keun ― also Moon's close associate ― accepted illegal political funding.
The main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) asked the Assembly to summon Im and Cho for further explanation and it plans to launch an Assembly investigation. Cheong Wa Dae flatly denied the claim by saying the surveillance was Kim's own decision. The presidential office officially filed a criminal complaint last week against Kim, charging him with proliferating false and groundless accusations and divulging sensitive information.
“Kim Tae-woo is doing everything to cover up his personal illegal activities. The party welcomes the President's decision to send his top two confidants to the Assembly,” said Hong Young-pyo, the floor leader of the DPK.