Lee Jin-suk says she is 'fully qualified' for science committee seat amid clash with Democratic Party

The ruling and opposition parties clashed sharply at a plenary session of the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting and Communications Committee over the assignment of People Power Party lawmaker Lee Jin-suk to the panel.

The Democratic Party of Korea on Thursday urged that Lee's committee assignment be revoked, citing a conflict of interest. The party argued that Lee, a former Korea Communications Commission chairwoman, had been named in a complaint filed through the same committee and could be subject to the national audit scheduled for later this year.

Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Yeon-hee said Lee Jin-suk was "a direct party to multiple legal controversies, including charges of breach of trust in the course of official duties, violations of the Public Official Election Act, questions over political neutrality, and abuse of authority and dereliction of duty." She added that Lee's activities while serving at the Korea Communications Commission could become the subject of the national audit planned for October.

Lee Yeon-hee went on to urge the ethics advisory committee to examine whether Lee Jin-suk's assignment to the panel constituted a conflict of interest and pass a resolution to revoke it.

Fellow Democratic Party lawmaker Hwang Jeong-a said she "cannot hide her dismay" that Lee Jin-suk was the person against whom all committee members had directly filed a complaint on charges of breach of trust, alleging the personal misuse of a corporate card at Daejeon MBC. "What member of the public would accept a situation where we have to sit on the same committee and face the very person we filed a complaint against?" she said.

Lee Jin-suk rebuffed the criticism, saying the matter was "one for the public to judge and to be handled in accordance with the National Assembly Act," and insisted she was "fully qualified to serve as a member of this committee."

She also expressed strong displeasure over a press conference Democratic Party members of the committee held Wednesday calling for her assignment to be withdrawn. "I express deep regret that they held a press conference in a manner resembling a group of students bullying a transfer student," she said.

People Power Party lawmaker Choi Hyeong-du criticized the Democratic Party's position, saying that "if filing a complaint against a lawmaker from another party and then using that as grounds to exclude them from National Assembly activities is permissible, that is a truly extra-legal idea."

Fellow People Power Party lawmaker Kim Jang-gyeom also pushed back, saying, "If being named in a complaint disqualifies someone from serving on this committee, are there not Democratic Party lawmakers who have been reported to our party as well?" He called the argument "inconsistent."

Kim went on to say that "all of Lee Jae Myung's lawyers have entered the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and taken the lead in erasing Lee Jae Myung's crimes and withdrawing indictments — that is a conflict of interest," and asked whether "the Legislation and Judiciary Committee has not become Lee Jae Myung's law firm."

The session was suspended roughly an hour after it opened as the heated exchange between the two sides continued.

After the session, Lee Jin-suk held a press conference at the National Assembly and warned: "If the Democratic Party plans to drive me out by passing a law that strips those under complaint of their right to serve on a standing committee, be prepared — at least dozens of Democratic Party members will lose their committee seats as well."