[Anchor]
This year's parliamentary audit by the National Assembly has now crossed its halfway mark. However, overshadowed by rival lawmakers' social media "Shorts politics," policy scrutiny has once again taken a back seat. Inappropriate remarks made by heads of audited government agencies have also come under fierce criticism.
Reporter Kim Kwan-jin takes a look back.
[Reporter]
On October 6, when this year's parliamentary audit kicked off, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee attended by Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-de spiraled into chaos from the start as rival lawmakers clashed after hurling insults telling each other to "act like human beings," with the shouting match spilling out into the hallway outside the committee room.
[Seo Young-kyo / Chair of Legislation and Judiciary Committee (Democratic Party lawmaker, Oct. 6): "Are you doing this just to shoot YouTube videos?"]
[Kim Tae-gyu / People Power Party lawmaker (Oct. 6): "Aren't you the one who is good at shooting YouTube videos, Madame Chair?"]
[Seo Young-kyo / Chair of Legislation and Judiciary Committee (Democratic Party lawmaker, Oct. 6): "Right, your speaking privileges are suspended!"]
[Kim Tae-gyu / People Power Party lawmaker (Oct. 6): "Suspend what?!"]
The audit by the Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee was repeatedly disrupted over conflict-of-interest questions surrounding the participation of People Power Party lawmaker Lee Jin-sook, who served as head of the Korea Communications Commission under the former Yoon Suk Yeol administration.
[Lee Hoon-gi / Democratic Party lawmaker (Oct. 16): "Are you smirking and enjoying this right now?"]
[Lee Jin-sook / People Power Party lawmaker (Oct. 16): "What are you talking about right now? Why would I be smirking?"]
[Lee Hoon-gi / Democratic Party lawmaker (Oct. 16): "Don't speak informally to me!"]
Across parliamentary standing committees, criticisms have mounted both inside and outside the National Assembly that lawmakers trading shouts and insults as if in a competition, rather than engaging in calm policy questioning, is due to the so-called "Shorts politics" aimed at appealing to hardline supporters through short-form social media videos.
Remarks made by heads of audited agencies also sparked controversy.
The head of the Ministry of Personnel Management touched upon the appearance and clothing of female civil service interview applicants:
[Choi Dong-seok / Head of the Ministry of Personnel Management (Oct. 7): "When female applicants come there wearing full makeup, business suits, and high heels..."]
Criticism also mounted against remarks made by the Minister for Government Policy Coordination that appeared to shift the blame for real estate issues:
[Lim Ki-keun / Minister for Government Policy Coordination (Oct. 13): "Only when each and every citizen mounts an all-court press can we solve this problem."]
As the parliamentary audit passed the halfway mark, the ruling and opposition parties shifted blame onto each other, claiming "only meaningless political offensives are being launched" and "a policy-driven audit was blocked due to the refusal to adopt witnesses."
During this week's audit, key points of contention are expected to include the broader ruling coalition's impeachment discussions regarding Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-de, controversy surrounding the withdrawal of indictments in cases involving President Lee Jae-myung, real estate lending regulations, and household debt issues.
(Video by Oh Young-choon | Video editing by Yu Mi-ra | Video source: YouTube 'Media Mongu')
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