Rival parties clashed at the National Assembly's Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee over the addition of witnesses for the parliamentary audit of government agencies.
At a full committee meeting on the 15th, the panel approved a motion to add Lee Kwan-sup, former presidential chief of staff under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, as a witness for the audit. The motion was led by the Democratic Party, with five People Power Party lawmakers voting against it.
The Democratic Party had sought Lee's appearance to examine allegations that the Yoon administration exerted improper pressure during the sale of broadcaster YTN. Rep. Choi Hyung-doo of the People Power Party, the opposition's committee liaison, objected, saying the YTN allegations were "a matter whose truth will be fully revealed through a Board of Audit and Inspection review or subsequent steps." Rep. Han Jun-ho of the Democratic Party, the ruling party's committee liaison, pressed ahead with the motion, saying it was "entirely reasonable to request that a standing committee question those who bear responsibility."
The People Power Party had called for the appearance of Han Sang-hyuk, former chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, who was indicted on charges of intervening in the review of TV Chosun's license renewal as a general programming channel during the Moon Jae-in administration. The motion to summon Han was defeated, with six votes in favor, 11 against and one abstention.
People Power Party members of the committee issued a statement after the vote, saying the Democratic Party "forced through a vote on Lee's appearance using its majority power while opposing the appearance of former chairman Han." They added that "a parliamentary audit is not a political tribunal where witnesses are hand-picked to suit the government's taste." The lawmakers also said Han "must be questioned before the public about the Korea Communications Commission's decision-making process and the fairness of the review at the time of TV Chosun's license renewal," demanding "a fair examination based on facts and the law in order to protect broadcasting freedom and independence."
Separately, at a full committee meeting earlier in the day, the panel also added Yoon Koo, head of Google Korea, Shin Chang-sub, chief executive of X Korea, formerly Twitter, Hur Wook, vice president of Meta Korea, and Hong Beom-shik, chief executive officer of LG Uplus, as witnesses for the audit.