The adoption of witnesses related to Ms. Kim continues.
The total number of witnesses is 564, three times the number four years ago.
26 accompanying orders were passed, the most ever
“Ms. Kim Kun-hee is a batting average in Go-Stop, and in baseball, she is a KBO batting average. Usain Bolt’s world record for the 100m is 9.58 seconds, but Mrs. Kim sold and bought everything in 7 seconds (after a sell text from the Deutsche Motors stock price manipulation gang). Isn’t it a ‘bolt that is a dry sign’?” (Chung Cheong-rae, Chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea)
“It is said that the audit minutes contain information that (inside the official residence) there is a luxurious facility that can be used only by Mrs. Kim, which is worthy of the public’s attention.” (Democratic Party Rep. Lee Seong-yoon)
“I need to at least look at the Board of Audit and Inspection minutes to confirm whether it is a luxury room, a beauty salon, or a liquor room.” (Democratic Party Rep. Jang Gyeong-tae)
On the 25th, when the first audit of the 22nd National Assembly was virtually completed, the Democratic Party launched an intensive attack, citing various suspicions related to Ms. Kim. Before the start of the National Assembly inspection, the offensive continued as predicted to create a ‘complete National Assembly inspection of Kim Kun-hee.’
From the 7th, when the first audit of the 22nd National Assembly was conducted, to this day, a total of 564 people were selected as general witnesses for the audit by 17 standing committees. This is nearly three times the number of general witnesses adopted four years ago during the first audit of the 21st National Assembly. Standing committees where the ruling and opposition parties fiercely opposed each other include the Legislation and Judiciary Committee (84 members), Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting and Communications Committee (149 members), Public Administration and Security Committee (114 members), Steering Committee (30 members), and Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee (23 members). This is the result of the opposition party continuing to adopt witnesses related to Ms. Kim.
It was confirmed that as the adoption of general witnesses related to Ms. Kim continued, the level of focus on the audited agency decreased. According to the National Assembly Inspection NGO Monitoring Group, 209 (33.2%) of the 630 audited institutions as of the 18th, the second week of the National Assembly inspection, had not received a single question. On the other hand, the opposition party led the issuance of accompanying orders for witnesses related to Ms. Kim’s suspicions, and a total of 26 accompanying orders were approved, a record high. This figure is 10 times higher than the average of 2.6 escort orders issued per year from 1988, when the companion order system was implemented, to last year.
Cho Jin-man, a professor of political science and diplomacy at Duksung Women’s University, said, “As all issues fell into the ‘Kim Kun-hee black hole,’ the nature of political inspection became stronger. In reality, noteworthy messages related to people’s livelihood or security were rarely seen.”
‘Kim Geon-hee’s battle’ in every standing committee… A group of 564 witnesses were adopted.
The first National Assembly inspection of the 22nd generation, ‘Kim Geon-hee’
Relocation of official residence – Deutsche – Suspicions of interference in nominations, etc.
野: All in, “We will hold them accountable for the government’s manipulation of government”
33% of 630 audited organizations were unable to answer questions
As of the 25th, the first audit of the 22nd National Assembly is nearing completion, excluding the comprehensive audit of the National Assembly’s Planning and Finance Committee and the audit of the concurrent standing committees, the Steering Committee and the Intelligence Committee. In almost all standing committees, including the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the Public Administration and Security Committee, suspicions related to First Lady Kim Kun-hee were treated as a key issue.
● National inspection ended with ‘Kim Geon-hee’
On the 6th, the day before the start of the National Assembly inspection, the Democratic Party of Korea predicted a “final National Assembly inspection,” saying, “We will dig into the truth of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration’s total incompetence and suspicions of Kim Kun-hee’s manipulation of state affairs, and pursue them to the ends of the earth to hold them accountable.” On the 7th, the first day of the National Assembly inspection, Shin Jeong-hoon, Chairman of the Public Administration and Security Committee of the Democratic Party, opened the fire by voting alone on the opposition party’s part to issue an accompanying order for Kim Tae-young and Rhee Syngman, Representatives of 21 Gram, in relation to the suspicion of relocating the Presidential Office residence. The opposition party raised suspicions that 21 Gram, a company that sponsored and cooperated with Mrs. Kim’s exhibition planning company, Kobana Contents, received a ‘preferential order’ by obtaining a private contract for the expansion of the Yongsan presidential residence through its close relationship with Ms. Kim.
At the Legislative and Judiciary Committee, the opposition party’s offensive continued over allegations of Mrs. Kim manipulating the stock price of Deutsche Motors and meddling in nominations. The opposition party adopted Myung Tae-gyun, a key person involved in the suspicion of intervention in Ms. Kim’s nomination, as a witness and said, “Mr. Myung nominated Ms. Kim in exchange for former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Young-sun repaying part of the public opinion poll costs reported to then-presidential candidate Yoon Seok-yeol in 2022. He raised suspicions that “he asked for it.”
At the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, questions poured in about the controversy over preferential treatment for the president’s wife on the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway. Regarding the change in the end point of the highway, Rep. Bok Ki-wang of the Democratic Party pointed out, “There are 29 lots related to Ms. Kim’s family on the changed route,” and Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Park Sang-woo countered, “The official position is that there was no preferential treatment or external pressure.”
At the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, the opposition party’s offensive of ‘watching the emperor’ continued regarding Ms. Kim’s visit to the KTV Korean traditional music performance hall in October last year. The Board of Education issued accompanying orders to Professor Seol Min-shin of Hankyong National University twice on the 8th and 24th in relation to allegations of plagiarism and ghostwriting of Ms. Kim’s master’s and doctoral thesis.
● Accompanying orders issued 26 times, the highest ever
The opposition party’s independent resolution on witnesses surrounding Ms. Kim’s suspicions continued, and it was confirmed that a total of 564 ordinary witnesses had been selected as of today. At the Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting and Communications Committee, where the opposition party continued to attack the process of appointing directors of public broadcasters such as KBS and the license fee issue, 149 witnesses were voted on. The Public Administration and Security Committee adopted 114 witnesses, including Myung Tae-gyun, and the Legislative and Judiciary Committee adopted 84 witnesses, including Mrs. Kim and President Yoon’s mother-in-law, Choi Eun-sun. It is pointed out that an unusually large number of witnesses were adopted compared to the average of 216 general witnesses approved per year during the 21st National Assembly.
As of the 18th, the second week of the National Assembly inspection, 209 of the 630 audited organizations (33.2%) had not received any questions. It was revealed that 37 organizations each were unable to receive inquiries from the Ministry of Defense and the National Defense Commission.
The opposition party continued to issue accompanying orders to witnesses who did not appear, including Mrs. Kim, recording the highest number ever. From the 7th to this day, 26 accompanying orders were approved in 7 standing committees. The Public Administration and Security Committee approved four cases related to suspicions of Ms. Kim’s illegal expansion of the presidential residence, and the Legislative and Judiciary Committee resolved three cases, including an order to accompany Ms. Kim. The ruling party fought back, saying, “We will disclose the names of Democratic Party members who did not attend after being notified of the money envelope summons,” but the opposition party went ahead with it under the pretext of public outrage.
Experts pointed out, “It is important to investigate suspicions, but as it escalated into too much political strife, there was not enough time to deal with issues related to the people’s livelihood.” Lee Jun-han, a professor at the Department of Political Science and Diplomacy at Incheon National University, said, “The theory that the National Assembly inspection is useless has been raised for a long time, and it will not be possible to avoid criticism that it is ineffective if we focus only on political warfare.” He added, “It seems necessary to improve the political culture of seriously making policies and presenting alternatives.” “He pointed out.