PPP intensifies offensive over Cheong Wa Dae national audit

The People Power Party stepped up its offensive Friday over the National Assembly's audit of Cheong Wa Dae, criticizing the ruling party's conduct while vowing to subject the government's budget proposal to intense scrutiny when Assembly deliberations begin in November.

Floor Leader Jeong Jeom-sik, speaking at a national audit strategy meeting at the Assembly on Friday morning, said the Democratic Party "brazenly refused to call key witnesses, including Kim Hyun-ji and Jeong Jin-sang" at the Cheong Wa Dae audit, and that opposition lawmakers "repeatedly forced recesses by silencing opposition members" on Thursday, obstructing the proceedings.

Jeong said it was "black comedy" that the presidential chief of staff — appointed only two weeks ago — apologized for a year's worth of personnel disasters by saying he felt "sorry as chair of the personnel committee." "The real power brokers who bear actual responsibility are all hidden in the back," Jeong said, "while an AI-robot chief of staff who just parrots prepared answers has been put out front."

Jeong likened ruling Democratic Party lawmakers to "bulletproof vests." "On Thursday, the ruling party was consumed with dodging the immediate crisis — blocking witnesses by sheer force, preventing audio recordings from being played, and silencing opposition members," Jeong said. "The lawmakers of the ruling party have been reduced to nothing more than a bulletproof vest for Kim Hyun-ji."

Jeong said the audit had exposed "the true face of an incompetent administration that can only shout and bluster because it lacks ability," adding that the only thing the government seemed capable of was "a mob lynching of Chief Justice Jo Hee-dae" because it lacked the ability to win back public trust.

Turning to the budget review set to begin in November, Jeong said the Lee Jae Myung administration was "running amok in every area — the economy, livelihoods, public safety, rule of law, diplomacy and security," and that fiscal policy was no different. "Next year's government budget proposal stands at a whopping 820 trillion won ($614 billion)," Jeong said.

Jeong warned that under the government's 2026–2030 fiscal management plan, national debt would balloon from 1,412.8 trillion won under this year's supplementary budget to 1,734.1 trillion won by 2030 — an increase of more than 321 trillion won. "Even as the national debt snowballs, the Lee Jae Myung administration is pushing ahead with the creation of a 162 trillion won future-response fund on the grounds that tax revenues have increased," Jeong said.

Jeong pointed to France as a cautionary tale. "Reckless fiscal management always has consequences — look at France," Jeong said. "Unable to sustain bloated spending, France is now burning."

Directing remarks at President Lee, Jeong said, "If we manage our finances the way the Lee Jae Myung administration does, France today becomes South Korea's future." Jeong called for the president to use an upcoming policy address to "declare a break with populist policies that plunder future generations."

Jeong also urged fellow party members to "do their utmost in conducting thorough and meticulous budget scrutiny, with gratitude for taxpayers' hard-earned money and a sense of responsibility toward the future — as befits a conservative party."