Yi Whan-woo is a Korea Times journalist primarily covering finance. He writes in-depth articles on macroeconomy and financial markets and previously covered sports, politics, diplomacy and inter-Korean affairs, among others. Feel free to contact him at yistory@koreatimes.co.kr.
Collision to continue over Cho-related scandals at audits this week
National Assembly Secretary General Yoo Ihn-tae, third from left, poses with other guests after unveiling the signboard of the control room for the 2019 National Assembly audit sessions at the Assembly, Sunday. Yonhap
By Yi Whan-woo
By Yi Whan-woo
The annual National Assembly audit sessions will return this week, with rival parties anticipated to continue locking horns over the corruption scandals surrounding Justice Minster Cho Kuk and his family members.
The sessions are scheduled from Oct. 2 to 21, during which 17 standing committees will question members of over 700 ministries, government organizations and public companies.
At least nine of the 17 committees, each comprised of members of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and opposition parties, oversee organizations that are linked to Cho-related scandals.
This means much of the 20-day sessions will focus on Cho.
The remaining parts of the sessions will also deal with many thorny issues over which the parties have been divided concerning possible solutions.
Among the issues are growing historic, diplomatic, trade and security spats with Japan, the U.S.-North Korea denuclearization dialogue, the peace process on the Korean Peninsula and the outbreak of African swine fever.
“This year's audit sessions will undoubtedly center on Cho,” Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University, said Sunday.
He speculated the DPK's collision with two conservative parties ― the Liberty Korea Party (LKP) and the Bareunmirae Party (BMP) ― is “inevitable.”
Yul said the liberal bloc has been arguing Cho is the right person to carry out Moon's prosecution reform drive while the conservatives have been accusing Cho of being unqualified to carry out the job.
“No liberal or conservative parties want to appear as if their arguments in relation to Cho are illogical and fail to woo voters ahead of the general elections next year,” Shin said.
Political sources speculated the Legislation and Judiciary Committee will get the most public attention, considering it will look into the Ministry of Justice, Supreme Prosecutors' Office and Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office that is investigating the allegations against Cho and his family.
The topics likely to be brought up include Cho's controversial phone call with one of the prosecutors who searched his house, the academic scandal involving Cho's children and the potential overhaul of the prosecution's investigative rights.
The Education Committee is expected to separately deal with whether Cho's daughter received favors that allowed her to enter a prominent university.
The Strategy and Finance Committee may question the alleged violation of real-name real estate transactions involving Cho's wife, while the National Policy Committee is likely to look into dubious investments in a private equity fund (PEF) concerning him and his wife.
Five others ― the Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee, the Public Administration and Security Committee; the Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs, and Startups Committee; the Health and Welfare Committee; and the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee ― are likely to deal with other minor allegations.
Concerning the Seoul-Tokyo spat, the parties may debate over whether the government should finalize its decision to exit GSOMIA, an intelligence-sharing pact with Japan.
Other sensitive issues are how much South Korea should bear the costs for the upkeep of American troops based here, concerns over a rift in the Seoul-Washington alliance, whether North Korea's latest launches of projectiles are in violation of the inter-Korean military agreement reached in September 2018 and whether North Korean leader Kim Jong-un should be invited to a special summit between the South and ASEAN in Busan in November.