PPP floor leader calls on Kim Hyun-ji to testify at national audit

People Power Party Floor Leader Jeong Jeom-sik on Wednesday called on Kim Hyun-ji, the presidential chief of staff's first deputy director, to appear before the national audit and explain how the officiant at her wedding — a person who received the lowest score during the evaluation process — was appointed head of a state-run enterprise.

"Kim Hyun-ji must absolutely come to the national audit now," Jeong told reporters at the National Assembly. "She needs to come out and explain herself in person."

He questioned why the chief justice of the Supreme Court could be summoned to the audit while a presidential aide could not. "Which citizen would accept that the chief justice is not off-limits but the deputy director is?" he said. "The chief justice, ranked third in the national hierarchy, can be called in and kept there — so what is the reason we cannot summon the deputy director?"

Jeong said the Democratic Party was blocking witnesses who must appear before the audit, naming Kim Hyun-ji, Jeong Jin-sang, Kim Yong-beom and Kim Seung-won. "The Democratic Party is flatly refusing to allow witnesses who absolutely must testify, turning this into an abnormal bulletproof National Assembly," he said. "A bulletproof national audit will face the judgment of the people."

Turning to the Democratic Party's conduct at Tuesday's Legislation and Judiciary Committee audit — where members refused to allow Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-de to leave and demanded he take a witness oath — Jeong said the scenes were "truly beyond words." "Neither the president nor the National Assembly can infringe on the chief justice's right to recommend judicial appointments. That is precisely the separation of powers," he said.

He also called President Lee Jae Myung and the Democratic Party "a community of lawlessness and unconstitutionality." "If the ruling party intends to keep destroying the separation of powers through verbal abuse and intimidation, it might as well just impeach the chief justice," he said.

On Legislation and Judiciary Committee Chair Seo Yeong-gyo's decisions to expel PPP lawmaker Park Hyeong-su and revoke the speaking rights of PPP lawmaker Kim Tae-gyu, Jeong called the moves "an abuse of authority and exactly what dictatorship looks like." He also criticized remarks attributed to Seo — that the head of the executive branch is the prime minister, the head of the judiciary is the chief justice, the head of the legislature is the Assembly speaker, and the president is the head of state — as "ignorant nonsense that shows even less basic constitutional knowledge than an elementary school student."

PPP Senior Deputy Floor Leader Kim Seung-su said the number of witnesses approved for this year's national audit had dropped sharply, falling about 22 percent from last year for ordinary witnesses alone and roughly 70 percent compared with the 2024 audit.

"This is essentially the Democratic Party blocking witness approvals," he said. He added that witnesses were refusing to submit documents, ignoring calls or switching off their phones. "Truly unbelievable conduct is being carried out right now," he said.