Lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties on Wednesday lashed out at the National Election Commission, accusing it of failing to cooperate with document requests related to the ballot shortage crisis.
Rep. Yoon Geon-young of the Democratic Party of Korea, the committee's minority floor leader, said at the parliamentary investigation session at the National Assembly that the commission had sent no witnesses to the first agency briefing and had failed to submit adequate materials. "We asked for detailed records of complaint calls and civil petitions received at the situation room on election day, and they said they couldn't provide them because they hadn't kept any logs," he said.
People Power Party floor leader Rep. Seo Beom-su also criticized the commission, saying secretariat staff who had skipped the parliamentary investigation were "still untouchable." He said two volumes of documents arrived at 6:18 p.m. the previous day — after business hours — ahead of Wednesday's session. When his office tried to follow up with the commission, they were met only with an automated message saying it was outside working hours.
Rep. Ju Jin-woo of the same party said the committee had requested overseas travel records for former commission chairmen who had traveled with their spouses — after questions arose over former Chairman Noh Tae-ak's spouse's overseas trips — only to be told the commission retains records for only five years. "The chairman's term is five years. Does it make any sense to keep only five years' worth of records?" he said.
Committee Chairman Yoon Sang-hyun warned that under the Act on the Inspection and Investigation of State Administration, the National Assembly has the right to demand document submissions, and that this was a public demand. "Anyone who refuses to submit documents is a criminal," he said, adding that those who refuse without justification and are referred to prosecutors by the committee face up to three years in prison or a fine of 10 million won ($6,460) to 30 million won.
Meanwhile, Democratic Party Rep. Lee Gi-heon addressed a separate personal matter, responding to opposition allegations that he had used profanity toward PPP Rep. Kim Eun-hye at the end of the first agency briefing. "The microphone was not on, and I have no memory of using any profanity," he said, urging colleagues not to use parliamentary immunity to damage a fellow lawmaker's reputation.
Rep. Seo fired back, saying Lee had interrupted a colleague's questioning and made remarks that sounded like profanity, triggering a heated exchange between the two sides. The main questioning session did not get underway until around lunchtime.
sunpine@heraldcorp.com
