[Anchor]

Representative Jung Chung-rae of the Democratic Party, a member of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee tasked with auditing overseas diplomatic missions, has been forced to change his inspection region after failing to receive a U.S. visa. The United States has reportedly delayed issuing the visa without providing a clear reason.

Reporter Go Jeong-hyeon reports.

[Reporter]

Yesterday (October 8) was three days before ruling and opposition lawmakers on the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee's Americas audit team were scheduled to depart on a 12-day, 9-night trip to audit overseas diplomatic missions, including the South Korean Embassy in the United States.

Democratic Party Representative Jung Chung-rae stated on social media, "I received a report from an aide that my U.S. visa application is currently still under review by the State Department," adding, "Unable to wait any longer in a state that is neither approved nor denied, I urgently requested a reassignment to the Europe audit team."

Because the U.S. visa was not issued, he changed his assignment from the Americas team, which oversees the United States and nearby regions, to the Europe team, which covers European nations.

Representative Jung said, "I do not know the exact reason. I have already traveled to the U.S. on official business twice before, so this is unfortunate and regrettable."

However, Representative Jung was also assigned to the committee's Americas audit team in October 2013 and was similarly unable to obtain a U.S. visa, resulting in him switching to the Europe team to conduct the audit at that time.

In 1989, as a college student, Representative Jung was penalized for occupying the U.S. ambassador's residence in Seoul and attempting to start a fire.

Democratic Party Representative Kim Min-seok stated, "I express deep regret over the visa issuance delay for a former ruling party leader and highly trusted four-term senior lawmaker," adding, "I hope South Korean and U.S. diplomatic authorities will move swiftly and proactively to resolve the issue."

The People Power Party criticized the government, noting the delays in visa issuance for Representative Jung and National Intelligence Service personnel scheduled for dispatch to the embassy in Washington, and argued that concerns over South Korea-U.S. relations are spreading beyond the visa issue to overall security cooperation.

Video Reporting by Lee Seung-hwan | Video Editing by Yoo Mi-ra