On November 5, at a plenary session of the National Assembly Steering Committee held in Yeouido, Seoul, the adoption of the 2024 National Assembly audit results report is in progress. Yonhap News.

The ruling and opposition parties clashed again over the issue of summoning Kim Hyun-ji, head of the Presidential Office's ancillary office, as a witness during the National Assembly Steering Committee's audit of the National Human Rights Commission.

Although the Steering Committee is under the jurisdiction of the Presidential Office, the audit on this day was conducted with the Human Rights Commission as the subject. Throughout the audit, the ruling and opposition parties engaged in a war of nerves, with shouting and protests during questioning by members of the opposing party, leading to a temporary suspension of the session and a disruption of proceedings.

Rep. Seo Ji-young of the People Power Party raised suspicions that Kim changed her mobile phone twice on the first day of the audit and also replaced her phone on the day President Lee Jae-myung, then leader of the Democratic Party, appeared at the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office for the Ssangbangul illegal inter-Korean remittance case. She claimed that Kim has changed her phone whenever there were political incidents in the past.

Rep. Seo argued that the summons for Kim was requested to resolve suspicions because "Director Kim always appears in the history of President Lee's alleged crimes."

In response, Kim Byung-ki, Floor Leader of the Democratic Party and Chair of the Steering Committee, intervened, stating, "Please ask questions that are relevant to the purpose of the audit." As the ruling party voiced strong protests, making it difficult to proceed with the meeting, he declared a suspension, and the audit was halted for approximately 30 minutes before resuming.

After the audit resumed, Rep. Jeon Jin-suk of the Democratic Party raised her voice, stating, "Director Kim said she would attend the audit in the morning, and it was the People Power Party that refused. The expression 'history of President Lee's alleged crimes' is a defamatory remark and false information." She added, "If Rep. Seo does not apologize, the Democratic Party will file a complaint with the National Assembly Ethics Committee."

Rep. Ju Jin-woo of the People Power Party argued, "Even President Lee's trial is on hold, so should the audit of Director Kim also be halted?" He added, "Since the Presidential Office audit is tomorrow, she must be summoned as a witness." Rep. Ju was appointed to the Steering Committee on this day, replacing Rep. Choi Su-jin of the same party.

Rep. Baek Seung-ah of the Democratic Party countered, "The People Power Party is obsessing over Director Kim like a stalker." She questioned, "Did Director Kim participate in martial law by writing notes like Noh Sang-won, or commit state affairs manipulation like Choi Soon-sil? Talking about non-official channel suspicions is a malicious attempt to muddy the waters."

Heated debates also took place regarding pending issues such as the death of a Yangpyeong public official and the Democratic Party's police substation.

Rep. Ju, referring to the Democratic Party's police substation, claimed, "The ruling party is pressuring investigative agencies to encourage and punish reports from the public." He asserted, "It is like North Korea's Five-Housekeeping system, where citizens monitor citizens, and it is akin to 'shutting their mouths.'"

In response, Rep. Kim Jun-hyeok of the Democratic Party pointed out, "It is not appropriate to resort to color-coded politics by comparing another party's actions to the North Korean regime." Rep. Moon Jin-suk of the same party also immediately objected, saying, "The People Power Party is reportedly creating a counter-organization."

Rep. Kwak Gyu-taek of the People Power Party stated, "The death of the Yangpyeong public official, who was under investigation by a special prosecutor, is a matter of such gravity that the Human Rights Commission should naturally investigate it ex officio." He added, "A swift conclusion should be reached, and if there are any illegalities, they should be reported to the prosecution."

Furthermore, targeting the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information, and Communications Committee, chaired by Rep. Choi Min-hee of the Democratic Party, he questioned, "There was a recent incident in a specific standing committee of the National Assembly where three National Assembly Secretariat staff members collapsed during their duties." He asked, "Three public officials collapsed, and it happened repeatedly in the same standing committee; shouldn't the Human Rights Commission conduct an ex officio investigation?"

Yonhap News