'Cheong Wa Dae audit should come first'
'Kim Yong-beom cannot pretend not to know'
People Power Party lawmaker Lee Sang-hwi, a member of the National Assembly's Steering Committee, said Wednesday he would "strongly call for" the designation of former presidential policy chief Kim Yong-beom as a witness at the upcoming national audit of the presidential office, warning that refusing to appear "would be disrespectful to the public."
Speaking on YTN Radio's "Jang Seong-cheol's News Myeongdang," Lee said the state exists to protect the safety and well-being of its citizens. "It makes no sense to drive people to the point where they might even consider taking their own lives, and then pretend not to know anything about it," he said. "That is why former policy chief Kim Yong-beom must come forward."
On the scope of the Steering Committee's audit, Lee said Cheong Wa Dae should be the top priority. "The most important target for the Steering Committee's national audit is Cheong Wa Dae," he said. "It is standard practice to start with the core institution first."
The committee had originally scheduled audits of the National Assembly Secretariat and Cheong Wa Dae for Oct. 29 and Oct. 30. Lee argued that the Cheong Wa Dae audit should be held on Oct. 29.
On the standoff between the ruling and opposition parties over which witnesses to summon from the presidential office, Lee said the invitation was not premised on wrongdoing. "We are not calling them in on the assumption that they did something wrong," he said. "We are designating them because there are matters that need to be addressed publicly, and they have an obligation to speak to the people in an official forum."
Regarding suggestions from some within the Democratic Party to compress the Steering Committee's national audit into a single day, Lee said it amounted to "a kind of muddying of the waters," adding that he sensed a strong desire to avoid the audit altogether.
Lee also said the national audit should scrutinize allegations that Kim Hyun-ji, the first deputy chief of staff at Cheong Wa Dae, interfered in personnel decisions. "What is being said about Chief Kim Hyun-ji looks like a form of interference in personnel matters," he said. "It could constitute private meddling, which makes it a serious problem."
On internal party affairs, Lee said Party Leader Jang Dong-hyeok's leadership had no choice but to continue for now. "We need to trust and follow the party leader in carrying out that role," he said, adding that what supporters of the party and the public wanted most was for the party to stop being noisy. "The Democratic Party is doing what it is doing — can we afford to be fighting among ourselves?" he said.
On independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon, Lee said he found him "quite sharp" during national audit proceedings, praising his ability to think on his feet and his analytical skills. "There are not many people with that kind of attacking power," Lee said. "I sometimes think how wonderful it would be if he were working shoulder to shoulder with us in our party, on the conservative side."
However, Lee added that unresolved tensions remained from the impeachment period. "The part where he poured fuel on the extreme emotional conflict during the impeachment situation has not yet been resolved," he said. "It will inevitably take time for that to dissipate naturally."
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