Jeong Jeong-sik's statement that 'the head of the executive branch is the prime minister and the president is the enemy' is "ignorant"
Seo Young-kyo "Kim Tae-gyu disrupts the meeting by mentioning 'Owl Rock'... We will deal with it resolutely."
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporters Lee Jeong-hyeon, Choi Pyeong-cheon, and Lee Yu-lip = Members of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly belonging to the People Power Party criticized the Chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea, Seo Young-kyo, demanding an apology for stopping the remarks of Rep. Kim Tae-gyu of the same party during the audit of government affairs.
In response, Chairman Seo refuted in a phone call with Yonhap News, "This is a red flag. Rep. Kim should first apologize for making remarks that should not have been made."
People Power Party Legislative Committee members said at a press conference at the National Assembly on this day, "We will consider all possible measures, including filing a complaint with the National Assembly Ethics Committee and filing a criminal complaint for abuse of power, etc. If you do not publicly apologize and promise to prevent recurrence, admit to yourself that you are no longer qualified to lead the Legislative and Judiciary Committee fairly and resign from your position as chairman."
Regarding Chairman Seo's progress at the Legislative and Judiciary Committee meeting the previous day, they criticized, "Rep. Park Eun-jung of the Chokuk Innovation Party and Rep. Kim Yong-min of the Democratic Party first made rude and mocking comments, and Rep. Kim Tae-gyu only returned the exact words he received, but only Rep. Kim Tae-gyu's speech was suspended. In the evening, even the opposition party secretary's right to speak was suspended."
At the same time, he pointed out, "Chairman Seo often brings up the right to maintain order clause in Article 145 of the National Assembly Act, but the right to maintain order is not the chairman's 'tool to silence' the opposition party." He pointed out, "Is it the law of the Legislative and Judiciary Committee that meetings are conducted as they please due to the chairman's arbitrariness and self-righteousness?"
Floor leader Jeong Jeong-sik also met with reporters at the National Assembly that day and criticized, "Chairman Seo ordered Rep. Park Hyeong-soo to leave yesterday and suspended Rep. Kim Tae-gyu's right to speak, which is an abuse of authority as chairman of the standing committee, and this is dictatorship."
In addition, in response to Chairman Seo's statement that "the head of the executive branch is the Prime Minister, the head of the judiciary is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the head of the legislative branch is the Speaker of the National Assembly, and the President is the head of state" while emphasizing the president's right to appoint Supreme Court justice candidates, Chairman Seo said, "This is ignorant, worse than that of an elementary school student and has no basic knowledge of the Constitution," and added, "He is not qualified to be the chairman of the Judiciary Committee or a member of the National Assembly."
In a phone call, Chairman Seo explained, "Rep. Tae-gyu Kim interrupted the question of Rep. Son Sol of the Progressive Party by saying, 'Let's create the truth about Owl Rock,'" and added, "Rep. Son requested strong sanctions."
He went on to say, “If something interferes with the proceedings of the meeting, the chairman can issue a warning, restraint, or order to leave,” and added, “We will take firm action to ensure that the meeting runs smoothly.”
At the same time, he said, “The People Power Party, which must reflect on itself and exercise restraint, is trying to shake up the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, but the more it tries, the more shabby it becomes. They say they will take legal action, but they can deal with it with false accusations. It will be false accusations.”
Chairman Seo refuted floor leader Chung's criticism that he was 'ignorant' by saying, "They say the head of the executive branch is the president, but the president is the head of the entire country," and "The president is not at the same level as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court."
The Democratic Party's Legislative and Judiciary Committee members also issued a statement, saying, "The People Power Party, which is blocking the normal progress of the standing committee meeting, should take the lead in expressing regret for Rep. Kim Tae-gyu," and pointed out, "Yesterday, at the National Assembly inspection, over-the-top remarks such as 'Did he get scratched by an owl rock' regarding the death of the former president took place."
He then urged, "Rep. Kim should bow down and apologize to former President Roh Moo-hyun's bereaved family and the people," and added, "The People Power Party should strip Rep. Kim of his party position and cooperate in forming a special ethics committee."
