野 “Identifies corporate arm-twisting” and 與 “political strife”… ‘Honam Semiconductor’ witness battle

At the National Assembly's Climate, Energy, Environment and Labor Committee's audit of the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the 13th, the ruling and opposition parties fiercely fought over the issue of adopting witnesses for heads of companies related to the 'Honam Semiconductor Mega Project'.

The main opposition party, the People Power Party, demanded that Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and SK Group Chairman Choi Tae-won be used as witnesses, saying that they would investigate the government's suspicions of 'corporate arm-twisting', but the Democratic Party of Korea countered, saying, "They are trying to use the national inspection as a political tool."

People Power Party lawmaker Na Kyung-won said, "The Honam mega project was started for the Democratic Party's national convention, so many people think that the president called corporate heads and twisted their arms," ​​and added, "We demand that Chairman Chey Tae-won (SK Group) and Lee Jae-yong (Samsung Electronics) be adopted as witnesses."

Rep. Kim Wi-sang of the same party also raised his eyebrows, saying, "When the Democratic Party was an opposition party, it did not hesitate to use any means to summon the head of a company to become the head of the National Assembly." He added, "If the People Power Party calls, is it a drag? This kind of double standard is what turns the inspection of government affairs into a political battle."

In response, Democratic Party lawmaker Shin Jeong-hoon strongly responded, saying, "The adoption of Chairman Choi Tae-won and Lee Jae-yong as witnesses only sounds like an intention to use them as a tool for political struggle. The Chun Doo-hwan administration did it, the Park Chung-hee administration did it, and the so-called Roh Tae-woo administration did it. When did the Democratic Party administration do corporate arm-twisting?"

At the same time, he raised his voice and said, “Let Honam make a living too.”

On the other hand, the ruling and opposition parties agreed with one voice on adopting corporate witnesses directly related to industrial accidents and labor health issues.

When Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Yong-woo urged the adoption of major companies such as Hanwha Ocean as witnesses, People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Jae-ok also mentioned the death accident within the Hanwha Group and added, "A responsible person from the (Hanwha) Group must come to the National Assembly and reveal to the public how this problem will be improved in the future."