Science Committee Adopts Lee Kwan-seop as Audit Witness, Rejects Han Sang-hyuk
The National Assembly's Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee adopted former presidential chief of staff Lee Kwan-seop as a witness for the parliamentary audit at its plenary meeting on the afternoon of the 15th, led by the Democratic Party, while voting down a motion to adopt former Korea Communications Commission (KCC) Chairman Han Sang-hyuk as a witness. The Democratic Party had demanded Lee's adoption as a witness to look into allegations of outside pressure in the sale of YTN during the Yoon Suk Yeol administration. Five People Power Party (PPP) lawmakers voted against the measure. At the PPP's request, the motion to adopt Han as a witness was put to a separate vote but was rejected, with 6 in favor, 11 against and 1 abstention.
Han was previously indicted on charges of meddling in the review of TV Chosun's re-approval as a comprehensive programming channel during the Moon Jae-in administration, with a first-instance ruling scheduled for November 12.
Democratic Party Rep. Han Joon-ho, the ruling party's senior secretary on the committee, cited the Board of Audit and Inspection's findings on the suspected illegal sale of YTN, saying, "It is entirely reasonable to ask a standing committee to hold accountable those responsible."
PPP members of the committee issued a statement criticizing, "The Democratic Party used its majority to force a vote on adopting former chief of staff Lee as a witness, while opposing the adoption of former Chairman Han as a witness." They charged, "A parliamentary audit is not a political tribunal where witnesses are cherry-picked to suit the tastes of those in power," adding, "Former Chairman Han must be questioned before the public about the KCC's decision-making process and the fairness of the review during TV Chosun's re-approval." The PPP demanded a fair verification based on facts and the law to protect freedom and independence of the press.
Earlier in the day, the committee additionally adopted Google Korea President Koo Yoon, X Korea CEO Shin Chang-sub, Meta Korea Vice President Hur Wook, and LG Uplus CEO Hong Beom-sik as audit witnesses, and approved summonses for five witnesses and three reference witnesses: Kim Jin-soo, senior researcher at the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology; Lee Hae-kook, professor at the Catholic University of Korea's College of Medicine; and Choi Kyung-jin, president of the Korean Society for Artificial Intelligence and Law.
The vote confirmed the standoff between the ruling and opposition parties over the selection of witnesses. With proceedings set to move forward on Lee's appearance before the National Assembly and Han's first-instance ruling scheduled for November 12, debate over probes into allegations in the broadcasting and telecommunications sectors is expected to continue.
