A hearing is held April 21 at the National Assembly’s special parliamentary probe committee examining allegations of politically driven, fabricated prosecutions under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, covering cases including the West Sea civil servant shooting, alleged statistics manipulation and alleged false reporting that defamed Yoon Suk Yeol. [Photo=Yonhap]
Rival parties traded accusations April 21 at the National Assembly’s special committee investigating allegations of politically motivated, fabricated prosecutions under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, as the dispute widened to include a threatened discipline motion and planned perjury complaints.
The committee held a plenary meeting and conducted hearings on prosecutions tied to the West Sea civil servant shooting, alleged manipulation of statistics and alleged false reporting that defamed Yoon Suk Yeol.
Democratic Party lawmakers argued prosecutors had become “the private property” of Yoon and pursued investigations with President Lee Jae-myung as their target. People Power Party lawmakers countered that Democrats were treating claims by criminals as unquestionable.
Democratic Party lawmaker Yang Bu-nam, speaking about the investigation into the alleged defamation of Yoon, said prosecutors “drew a picture that the president was at the apex of the false reporting and launched a sweeping investigation,” calling it “decisive evidence that the prosecution became Yoon Suk Yeol’s private property.”
People Power Party lawmaker Shin Dong-wook said, “Democratic Party lawmakers are turning people who committed crimes into prisoners of conscience, and their claims are being treated like gospel.”
The sides also clashed over allegations that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport manipulated housing statistics under the Moon Jae-in government. A ministry official appearing as a reference witness said that during a Board of Audit and Inspection review after the Yoon government took office, the official “was shown other people’s Q&A sheets and led through a process that induced answers agreeing with them.”
People Power Party lawmaker Na Kyung-won pushed back, citing a social media chat among Korea Real Estate Board employees that included messages such as “Do it well to suit BH (the Blue House) tastes,” and said, “It’s all there about manipulating home-price statistics, and now you’re calling it a fabricated investigation and a pressured audit?”
Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Ju-hee said she would introduce a motion to discipline Shin, accusing him of disrupting proceedings “with shouting and harsh language” despite warnings from the chair. Shin responded that the committee was not operating normally on matters such as procedure and selecting witnesses, and said he was trying to ensure it functioned properly “even if that means disrupting proceedings.”
Later the same day, People Power Party members of the committee held a news conference and said they would file perjury complaints against National Intelligence Service Director Lee Jong-seok and five others. Rep. Kim Hyung-dong said they had “blatantly denied even facts recognized by final court rulings” and “misled” the committee by portraying existing evidence as if it did not exist, calling it “clear false testimony” and “a serious criminal act that deceives the public.”
The committee held a plenary meeting and conducted hearings on prosecutions tied to the West Sea civil servant shooting, alleged manipulation of statistics and alleged false reporting that defamed Yoon Suk Yeol.
Democratic Party lawmakers argued prosecutors had become “the private property” of Yoon and pursued investigations with President Lee Jae-myung as their target. People Power Party lawmakers countered that Democrats were treating claims by criminals as unquestionable.
Democratic Party lawmaker Yang Bu-nam, speaking about the investigation into the alleged defamation of Yoon, said prosecutors “drew a picture that the president was at the apex of the false reporting and launched a sweeping investigation,” calling it “decisive evidence that the prosecution became Yoon Suk Yeol’s private property.”
People Power Party lawmaker Shin Dong-wook said, “Democratic Party lawmakers are turning people who committed crimes into prisoners of conscience, and their claims are being treated like gospel.”
The sides also clashed over allegations that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport manipulated housing statistics under the Moon Jae-in government. A ministry official appearing as a reference witness said that during a Board of Audit and Inspection review after the Yoon government took office, the official “was shown other people’s Q&A sheets and led through a process that induced answers agreeing with them.”
People Power Party lawmaker Na Kyung-won pushed back, citing a social media chat among Korea Real Estate Board employees that included messages such as “Do it well to suit BH (the Blue House) tastes,” and said, “It’s all there about manipulating home-price statistics, and now you’re calling it a fabricated investigation and a pressured audit?”
Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Ju-hee said she would introduce a motion to discipline Shin, accusing him of disrupting proceedings “with shouting and harsh language” despite warnings from the chair. Shin responded that the committee was not operating normally on matters such as procedure and selecting witnesses, and said he was trying to ensure it functioned properly “even if that means disrupting proceedings.”
Later the same day, People Power Party members of the committee held a news conference and said they would file perjury complaints against National Intelligence Service Director Lee Jong-seok and five others. Rep. Kim Hyung-dong said they had “blatantly denied even facts recognized by final court rulings” and “misled” the committee by portraying existing evidence as if it did not exist, calling it “clear false testimony” and “a serious criminal act that deceives the public.”
* This article has been translated by AI.
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