PPP files injunction at Constitutional Court to block lawmaker's exclusion from national audit

The People Power Party filed a competence dispute petition and an injunction request with the Constitutional Court on Thursday, challenging a vote by the National Assembly's science and technology committee to bar lawmaker Lee Jin-suk from its national audit. The party argues the exclusion, pushed through by pro-ruling-bloc lawmakers, violated an opposition member's right to conduct the audit.

Kim Tae-gyu, the PPP's legal advisory committee chairman, and Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting and Communications Committee members Kim Jang-gyeom and Lee submitted the competence dispute petition and injunction application to the Constitutional Court on Thursday. The PPP and Lee are listed as petitioners; the committee chairman is named as the respondent.

On Monday, pro-ruling-bloc lawmakers on the committee added a motion to exclude Lee from the 2026 national audit of the Korea Communications Commission and other agencies to the agenda mid-session and passed it.

The exclusion covers three days of audits spanning eight agencies — including the Korea Communications Commission and the Korea Communications Standards Commission on Monday, five institutions including the Korea Broadcasting System on Friday, and a comprehensive audit on Oct. 22. All audit activities are restricted, including listening to agency briefings, questioning witnesses, examining documents and requesting the submission of materials.

On the day of the vote, Lee filed an objection under Article 13, Paragraph 3 of the National Audit and Investigation Act. The PPP maintains that under that provision, whether to exclude Lee must be decided by a plenary vote of the full National Assembly.

In the competence dispute petition, the PPP argued that the committee chairman's decision to put the exclusion motion on the agenda and declare its passage violated Lee's rights to deliberate, vote, question and speak during the national audit. The party also said the move infringed on the PPP's rights as a negotiating bloc to participate in the audit and to consult on the agenda.

The party asked the court to confirm whether its rights had been violated and to annul or invalidate the exclusion vote. It also filed the injunction to suspend the effect of the exclusion vote until a ruling on the merits is issued, given that audits are scheduled for Friday and Oct. 22.

"This exclusion vote is unconstitutional in both substance and procedure," the PPP said. "Since the National Assembly's Ethics Advisory Committee found no possibility of a conflict of interest involving Rep. Lee, there were no legal grounds for exclusion in the first place."

The party said a constitutional ruling was absolutely necessary "to prevent the majority ruling party from repeatedly restricting opposition lawmakers' national audit activities through votes," adding that "since the national audit is held only once within a statutory period, if the audit ends with Rep. Lee's activities restricted by an unconstitutional exclusion vote, the violated rights cannot be restored. We urge the Constitutional Court to issue a swift ruling on the injunction request."