Supreme Court Justice Renomination Emerges as Key Issue in Audits of 11 National Assembly Committees

Ruling and opposition lawmakers clashed on the 16th over the refusal to renominate a Supreme Court justice candidate during parliamentary audits by 11 standing committees, including the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. At the committee's audit, issues such as the conflict between Chief Justice Jo Hee-de and the presidential office, as well as the suspended trials of President Lee Jae-myung since his inauguration, also became points of contention. Further questioning on candidate nominations is expected regarding the Seoul High Court, where Judge Kim Min-ki — formerly on the shortlist to succeed former Justice Noh Tae-ak — serves.

The Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee received closed-door briefings from MBC in the morning, then held audits of KBS, EBS, the Korea Communications Agency's affiliates — the Broadcasting Culture Promotion Foundation, the Audience Media Foundation, and the Korea Broadcasting Advertising Promotion Corporation — in the afternoon. Earlier, the ruling party passed a motion to recuse Rep. Lee Jin-sook of the People Power Party from the audit of matters she was involved in during her tenure as chairwoman of the Korea Communications Commission, with partisan sparring anticipated over the decision.

The Strategy and Finance Committee visited Hanwha Ocean in Geoje. The committee's regional teams 1 and 2 separately inspected the Government Procurement Agency's stockpile base in Gunsan and the Currency headquarters of Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation in Gyeongsan. The teams then audited the Daejeon and Gwangju Regional Tax Offices and the Busan and Daegu Regional Tax Offices, respectively.

The National Defense Committee continued its on-site inspection for a second day, touring Kia's Gwangju production plant in the morning and receiving briefings from the Army's 31st Infantry Division and the Navy's Third Fleet Command in the afternoon.