Rival parties lock horns over first lady, hot-button issues on 1st day of parliamentary audit
Choo Kyung-ho, left, floor leader of the ruling People Power Party, and his main opposition Democratic Party of Korea counterpart, Park Chan-dae, speak during a ceremony marking Armed Forces Day at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Oct. 1. Yonhap
The rival parties clashed over a slew of controversies surrounding first lady Kim Keon Hee and opposition leader Lee Jae-myung as an annual parliamentary audit kicked off Monday for a 26-day run.
The National Assembly kicked off the inspection of the government and state agencies earlier in the day, the first parliamentary audit since the 22nd Assembly's new four-year term began in late May. A total of 802 government ministries and agencies are subject to this year's inspection, overseen by the assembly's 17 standing committees.
On the first day of the audit, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) lawmakers of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee specifically took issue with Kim's attendance at a Korean traditional music concert, allegedly performed only to a small group of people last October, claiming she had received privileges as the first lady.
At the center of the audit hearing of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee were controversies surrounding Lee, including a high-profile property development corruption scandal, with the ruling People Power Party (PPP) calling for a speedy trial of Lee's alleged election law violations.
Lee currently faces four court trials, including his involvement in an unauthorized transfer of US$8 million to North Korea and over alleged development project-related bribery and perjury.
The audit began as the rival parties have been locked in months of political strife since the start of this Assembly, with the DPK unilaterally pushing through contentious bills, such as one calling for a special counsel probe into allegations surrounding the first lady.
The special counsel bill targeting the first lady calls for an independent probe into allegations Kim was involved in manipulating the stock prices of Deutsch Motors Inc., a BMW car dealer in South Korea, between 2009 and 2012, illegally received a Dior bag in 2022 and interfered with the ruling party's candidate nominations ahead of the April 2024 general elections.
The opposition is expected to continue questioning Kim's allegations throughout the parliamentary audit, while the PPP will likely hit back at the opposition with controversies surrounding Lee.
Ten of the Assembly's 17 standing committees, including the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, and the Public Administration and Security Committee, held their inspection hearings Monday.
Other thorny issues, such as alleged irregularities in the remodeling of the presidential residence, came under intense scrutiny at the audit, set to end on Nov. 1. (Yonhap)