Home Affairs Committee sparks debate over expanded police investigative powers

Land Committee grills LH over housing supply shortfalls

Legislation panel puts Board of Audit and Inspection's 'Tiger faction' in the spotlight

Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Park Ji-won questions audit commissioner Kim Young-shin at the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee audit of the Board of Audit and Inspection in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on Monday. Park called Kim to the podium and demanded to know whether Kim felt any shame about continuing to serve as an audit commissioner as the alleged second-in-command of the so-called Tiger faction, a clique centered on suspended audit commissioner Yoo Byung-ho. [Newsis]
Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Park Ji-won questions audit commissioner Kim Young-shin at the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee audit of the Board of Audit and Inspection in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on Monday. Park called Kim to the podium and demanded to know whether Kim felt any shame about continuing to serve as an audit commissioner as the alleged second-in-command of the so-called Tiger faction, a clique centered on suspended audit commissioner Yoo Byung-ho. [Newsis]

Ruling and opposition parties traded sharp exchanges Monday as the national audit hearings entered their second week, clashing over prosecution and police reform, real estate supply policy, and allegations of politically targeted audits by the Board of Audit and Inspection.

The National Assembly held simultaneous audits across 12 standing committees, including the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, the Home Affairs Committee, the Land and Transportation Committee, the National Defense Committee, the Agriculture, Food, Maritime and Fisheries Committee, the Trade, Industry and Energy Committee, the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee and the Education Committee.

The Home Affairs Committee's audit of the Korean National Police Agency drew particular attention, with debate centering on whether police investigative powers had grown too large following the abolition of the Prosecution Service and the launch of the new Serious Crime Investigation Agency and the Public Prosecution Service. Lawmakers sparred over fears of a case backlog under the restructured investigative system, the political neutrality of the police, and allegations of shoddy investigations.

The People Power Party focused its criticism on the political neutrality implications of the police's expanded authority, particularly raising allegations of a politically motivated investigation after PPP lawmaker Kim Jae-seop was summoned by police and questioned for an extended period on Tuesday.

The Democratic Party, by contrast, emphasized the separation of investigation from indictment as the core of prosecution reform, stressing the need to strengthen police investigative capacity and push for internal reform. The party argued that under the new criminal justice framework, police powers must be checked while minimizing any gap in investigative coverage.

Allegations also surfaced that an investigation into independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon's daughter's fabricated credentials had been suppressed. Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Young-bae said there was no choice but to suspect that an investigation involving the then-serving justice minister had been buried, calling it clear evidence that police had failed to properly investigate those in power.

When fellow Democratic Party lawmaker Yoon Geon-young raised allegations of a botched investigation and demanded a full reinvestigation, acting Korean National Police Agency Commissioner Kim Jong-cheol said he believed proper procedures had been followed in accordance with the law and principles, but added that he would not rule out a full reinvestigation if new facts came to light.

The Land and Transportation Committee's audit of the Korea Land and Housing Corporation also saw heated exchanges over the government's real estate supply policy.

Democratic Party lawmaker Yeom Tae-young said LH's rental business losses had grown from 1.79 trillion won ($1.34 billion) in 2021 to 2.73 trillion won in 2025, and questioned how existing debt and deficits would be divided if the corporation were split into separate housing development and residential welfare entities. He also asked whether LH could realistically meet its housing supply and residential stability targets given the serious problem of staff attrition.

PPP lawmaker Eom Tae-young, meanwhile, said detailed implementation plans for projects LH had agreed to carry out directly under the government's Sept. 7 housing measures had been delayed multiple times, warning that even this year's target volume was at risk of falling short.

Lawmakers from both parties also raised concerns about LH's poor progress in replacing domestically branded but Chinese-made CCTV cameras installed in public rental housing, alleged submission of false data related to that issue, and what they described as an uncooperative attitude toward lawmakers' requests for records on corporate card usage and details of disciplinary and investigative cases.

Opposition lawmakers also went after LH President Lee Seong-hun, a former presidential secretary for land and transportation affairs. PPP lawmaker Yoo Sang-bum noted that Lee had declared in his July inauguration speech that housing was a public good, not a vehicle for speculation, then pointed out that Lee's asset disclosure from his time as presidential secretary showed three properties — an apartment in Sejong, a share in a multi-unit house in Daechi-dong registered in his spouse's name, and a share in an apartment in Dogok-dong — and asked what the public would make of that.

At the Legislation and Judiciary Committee's audit of the Board of Audit and Inspection, allegations that the Yoon Suk Yeol administration had conducted targeted and coercive audits against the preceding Moon Jae-in government emerged as a central issue.

Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman Kim Ho-cheol said in his opening remarks that the agency had reviewed audit matters that had been the subject of controversy over targeted and coercive practices, and had pursued institutional reforms including the abolition of the special investigation bureau and the strengthening of internal controls. He added that procedures to hold those responsible strictly accountable were under way.

The remarks were widely interpreted as a reference to ongoing reform and accountability proceedings surrounding past audit controversies, coming as audit commissioner Yoo Byung-ho remains in detention on charges of suppressing an audit into former President Yoon's official residence relocation. Kim presented "audits trusted by the people, a Board of Audit and Inspection that stands upright" as the agency's new operating vision.

The so-called Tiger faction — an alleged clique centered on Yoo — also became a flashpoint during the audit.

Democratic Party lawmaker Park Ji-won called audit commissioner Kim Young-shin to the podium and demanded to know whether Kim felt any shame about continuing to serve as a commissioner as the alleged second-in-command of the Tiger faction, saying that Yoo and Kim had turned the Board of Audit and Inspection into a ruined institution. Park then pressed Kim to resign voluntarily.

Fellow Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Dong-a also turned to Kim Young-shin, asking whether he was not in fact the remaining leader of the Tiger faction and whether he had any intention of stepping down given the scale of the controversy.

Kim Young-shin denied any connection to the Tiger faction, saying he had done nothing to be ashamed of and had acted according to his conscience.

During the exchange, Park asked whether Kim had not been a subordinate of Yoo — using a Japanese-derived slang term for underling, "kobun" — and Kim replied that the word was somewhat insulting.

Elsewhere, the Agriculture, Food, Maritime and Fisheries Committee's audit of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries put the government's proposed merger of the port authorities of Busan, Ulsan, Incheon and Yeosu-Gwangyang under scrutiny, and also touched on the management of a shark that has taken up long-term residence in an artificial waterway at Busan's North Port waterfront park. At the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee's audit of the Korean Film Council and the Korea Media Rating Board, the film "The Assassin" again became a point of contention, revisiting the dispute that had already flared at the previous week's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism audit.


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