Foreign affairs committee launches overseas audits; Han Dong-hoon back in spotlight

The National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, which counts many of the legislature's senior lawmakers among its members, will begin on-site audits of overseas diplomatic missions starting Monday (local time).

All eyes are on whether independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon — who has been at the center of political controversy after raising a string of allegations against Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Seung-won and questioning the circumstances of a past investigation involving the late former President Roh Moo-hyun — will again command attention even while abroad.

The committee organized its overseas audit into three teams: an Americas team, a Europe team and an Asia-Pacific team.

The Americas team is led by committee chair Song Seok-jun of the People Power Party, who is considered an ally of Han. Joining him from the Democratic Party are former party leader Jung Chung-rae, chief spokesperson Park Seong-jun and lawmaker Maeng Seong-gyu. The PPP's representatives include Ko Dong-jin, a former Samsung Electronics president, and Kim Geon, a former head of the Foreign Ministry's Korean Peninsula Peace Negotiations Bureau — both also seen as Han allies. Han himself rounds out the team.

The Europe team is headed by Democratic Party lawmaker Hong Gi-won, who leads his party's side on the committee. It includes Democratic Party Secretary-General Han Jeong-ae, PPP lawmaker Kwon Young-se, a former unification minister, Ahn Cheol-soo, and Kim Jun-hyung of the Rebuilding Korea Party — who served as president of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy under the Moon Jae-in administration and now serves as the party's floor leader.

The Asia-Pacific team is led by PPP lawmaker Kim Dae-sik, who leads his party's side on the committee, and includes former Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik and PPP floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik.

The Americas team will begin its audit at the South Korean Embassy in the United States, while the Europe and Asia-Pacific teams will start at the embassies in the United Kingdom and Japan, respectively.

Han was also a central topic at the Legislation and Judiciary Committee's national audit of the Ministry of Justice on Wednesday.

Lawmakers on the ruling party's side alleged that police had sought judicial cooperation with the United States to investigate allegations that Han's daughter had fabricated her academic credentials, but that prosecutors had blocked the effort.

Acting Justice Minister Lee Jin-su, responding to the allegations raised by Democratic Party lawmaker Park Gyun-taek, said he would "verify the facts and the truth through the prosecution office" and would "review appropriate measures after receiving the results."

According to Park, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's anti-corruption and public crime investigation unit applied for international mutual legal assistance in November 2022 to obtain relevant materials held in the United States. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office — now the Seoul Central District Prosecution Office — notified police within 11 days that it would not forward the request.

At the time, police had accepted a complaint and were investigating allegations that the child of Han, then a nominee for justice minister in May 2022, had built a fraudulent resume through ghostwritten academic papers and inflated volunteer hours. Park said prosecutors cited the complexity and length of the mutual legal assistance process, doubts about whether it was strictly necessary to establish the facts, and skepticism that the United States would follow through as reasons for not forwarding the request.

Park sharply criticized the decision, saying it was "highly unusual and unacceptable" for a district prosecutors office to reject the request without even forwarding the materials to the Ministry of Justice's international criminal affairs division. "We must determine whether this constitutes an abuse of power by Han alone," he said.

In addition, Lee said that regarding allegations Han leaked investigation materials related to lawmaker Kim Seung-won, the relevant prosecution office had already begun verifying the facts under the responsibility of the agency head and department chief, and that the process of establishing the truth was ongoing within the relevant division.