Question raised at Legislation and Judiciary Committee national audit of Constitutional Court
People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun raised allegations Tuesday at the Legislation and Judiciary Committee's national audit at the National Assembly, claiming that documents filed in connection with Constitutional Court Chief Justice Kim Sang-hwan's official trip to Spain — during which Kim's wife accompanied him — amounted to a "fabricated report."
Questioning Constitutional Court Secretary General Son In-hyeok, Yoon said the Sixth World Conference on Constitutional Justice was held in Madrid, Spain, last October, and questioned the basis for the chief justice's wife joining the delegation. "What connection does the chief justice's wife have with 'the human rights of future generations' — the theme of the conference?" he said.
Yoon said the overseas travel plan on file stated that the spouse had been invited by Spain's Constitutional Court, but he disputed that claim. "I read the entire English-language invitation, and there is absolutely nothing in it — not a single word — about a spouse or about bringing the chief justice's wife along," he said, calling the document a "fabricated travel plan."
He added that the report described the travel party as "four people, including a companion and security personnel," but said the terms "companion" and "spouse" were entirely different concepts. "Ultimately, a false travel plan was written, and that false plan ended up in the trip report," he said.
Yoon said more than 10 million won ($7,490) in taxpayer money was spent on the wife's participation in the trip. "Does this make sense to the public?" he said, adding that producing such a report amounted to "stealing the people's hard-earned tax money."
In response, Secretary General Son said decisions on whether to allow a companion on an official trip take full account of the invitation's contents, the nature of the event and any accompanying-person programs offered.
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