Seoul: The National Assembly is set to launch its first audit of the Lee Jae Myung government Monday, with rival parties expected to clash over an appearance of the Supreme Court's chief justice and tariff negotiations with the United States. A total of 17 parliamentary standing committees will conduct the 25-day audit of 834 government organizations until Nov. 6.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the ruling Democratic Party (DP) has vowed to target the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration during this year's audit, the first since Yoon's Dec. 3 martial law bid, calling the audit an opportunity to bring what it calls a "complete end to insurrection." On the other hand, the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) plans to accuse the DP of being preoccupied with fabricating an insurrection narrative while neglecting people's livelihoods, and to highlight Lee's policy failures.
The opening week of the audit is expected to see clashes in key committees, including the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. The DP, which has been pushing for a series of legislative reforms, has called on Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae to appear before the committee's audit session on Monday over alleged election interference in Lee's election law violation case. Cho is accused of election interference after the Supreme Court, under his leadership, overturned a not-guilty verdict in Lee's election law violation case and sent it back to a lower court for retrial just ahead of the June 3 presidential election. Although chief justices have traditionally been allowed to leave after delivering the opening remarks, the DP has vowed to question Cho directly at the audit.
Clashes are also expected at the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee's audit. The PPP is set to denounce the detention of South Korean nationals in Georgia and delays in the Seoul-Washington tariff negotiations as a "diplomatic disaster," while the DP is likely to dismiss such criticism. During the sessions, opposition parties are also likely to criticize the Lee administration's distribution of nationwide cash handouts as populist policies. The government has conducted two rounds of handouts in the form of "consumption coupons" since July as part of efforts to stimulate private consumption.