'Democratic Party broke convention, monopolized posts'
By Jung Seok-jun, The Herald Business
People Power Party floor leader Jung Seok-jun said Monday that his party must reclaim the chairmanship of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee in negotiations over the second-half legislative session, arguing it was essential to building "a working Assembly, not one that makes Shorts videos."
Speaking at a floor strategy meeting at the National Assembly, Jung said the Democratic Party of Korea had "broken convention and monopolized both the Assembly speakership and the judiciary committee chairmanship" during the first half of the 22nd National Assembly. "Did the Democratic Party run the judiciary committee well? Did it show the Assembly functioning normally?" he asked.
Jung alleged that Democratic Party judiciary committee chair Jung Chung-rae had ejected witnesses at will and threatened an opposition lawmaker who looked at him, saying he would remove anyone who "kept staring." He also claimed that another committee chair, Lee Chun-seok, had resigned after conducting stock trades under a borrowed name during a plenary session and become a subject of investigation.
Jung further alleged that committee chair Choo Mi-ae had "ruled through outright autocracy, refusing even to appoint an opposition whip," and that the committee had held an unprecedented confirmation hearing for Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-de last year "purely to humiliate him." He said members would recall how Jo was kept from leaving the hearing room for 90 minutes and mocked with a doctored photo captioned "Jo Toyotomi Hideyoshi."
He added that Democratic Party members had also "stormed through the Supreme Court building, forced their way into justices' offices, and trampled through the grand courtroom laughing," while Choo had failed to stop an independent lawmaker from openly interfering with PPP members' questioning.
Jung said Democratic Party judiciary committee members had brought soju and water bottles into national audit hearings under that leadership and stirred up what he called a "salmon drinking party." He also argued that the committee's failure to properly review legislation had led to numerous bills — including amendments to the Assembly Testimony and Appraisal Act, a bill to establish a special insurrection tribunal, amendments to the Information and Communications Network Act, a proposed offense of distorting the law, and amendments to the National Referendum Act — being hastily revised at the plenary stage after being rushed through by committee hardliners.
mp1256@heraldcorp.com
