On October 8, the Democratic Party and the People Power Party clashed during a national audit conducted by the National Assembly's Finance Committee, Political Affairs Committee, and Legislative and Judiciary Committee over issues related to the Future Response Fund, leverage ETFs, and the suspension of speaking rights.
During the Finance Committee session, tensions flared over the government's proposed Future Response Fund, which aims to utilize excess tax revenue from the semiconductor sector.
People Power Party lawmaker Im I-ja argued, "This is a negative bank account that misuses the names of future generations. Ultimately, it is an unfair account that robs local governments of their resources," demanding the withdrawal of the Future Response Fund, which he described as President Lee Jae-myung's slush fund.
In response, Democratic Party lawmaker Moon Jin-seok labeled Im's comments as politically charged, asserting, "The Future Response Fund is intended to secure future growth drivers."
In the Political Affairs Committee, a heated debate ensued regarding the implementation process and accountability for the single-stock leverage exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
The People Power Party focused its criticism on Kim Yong-beom, the former head of the Presidential Office's Policy Office, regarding the introduction of single-stock leverage ETFs. Lawmaker Park Jun-tae stated, "Kim was the first to flee after submitting his resignation, and his current whereabouts are unclear," criticizing his absence from the witness list.
Lawyer Song Eon-seok added, "Many people from the Financial Services Commission and the Ministry of Finance have pointed to Kim as the one who pushed for the introduction. This reckless policy has caused losses to the public, and if the National Pension Service incurs significant losses, shouldn't there be a public apology and resignation?"
Conversely, the Democratic Party emphasized the necessity of introducing single-stock leverage ETFs, arguing that the opposition was politicizing the issue of accountability. Lawmaker Park Hong-bae remarked, "There is a tendency to frame this as a conspiracy theory that the Blue House unilaterally pushed for this product. Domestic investors were already trading single-stock leverage ETFs based on domestic stocks in Hong Kong, so it was necessary to address regulatory discrepancies."
Lawyer Jeon Hyun-hee also countered, stating, "The reason for the introduction is not the essence of the matter. The financial authorities had no choice but to consider the introduction of ETFs. Questioning who made the decision is merely a political dispute for the sake of dispute."
In the Legislative and Judiciary Committee, lawmakers clashed over the suspension of speaking rights imposed by Chairperson Seo Young-kyo on People Power Party lawmaker Kim Tae-kyu on October 6.
Lawmaker Kwak Gyu-taek criticized, "Chairperson Seo suspended speaking rights whenever the opposition raised any objections, which makes it impossible to conduct a national audit." Lawmaker Kim Tae-kyu echoed this sentiment, stating, "Demanding an apology based solely on my remarks is a biased process."
In response, Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Yong-min asserted, "Kim Tae-kyu should be firmly removed. It is appalling and embarrassing to have him here. He does not deserve to be present in this session and must be dealt with decisively."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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