Ruling and Opposition Clash in National Assembly Political Affairs Committee Over Perjury Complaints Against State Audit Witnesses Including MBK Chairman Kim Byungjoo

The first full meeting of the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee in the new year broke down roughly 20 minutes after it began. This came as opposition members of the committee took issue with members of the ruling coalition bloc on the committee having recently filed criminal complaints with prosecutors against state audit witnesses, including Kim Byungjoo, Chairman of MBK Partners, and Kim Hyungseok, President of the Independence Hall of Korea, for perjury in violation of the Act on Testimony and Appraisal Before the National Assembly.

At the plenary meeting of the National Assembly's Committee on Political Affairs held on the 5th, Chairman Yoon Hanhong engaged in a heated exchange with lawmakers from the Democratic Party of Korea and other ruling bloc members over the filing of charges against witnesses in the committee's 2025 government audit. Yonhap News

Kang Min-guk, a People Power Party lawmaker who serves as the opposition secretary of the Political Affairs Committee, strongly criticized the move in a procedural speech immediately after the committee convened its full meeting at the main building of the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 5th, saying, “This complaint, which was filed without a single word of consultation, is a very serious matter that shakes the very order of how the Political Affairs Committee is run.”

Fellow party member Yoo Youngha also commented on the fact that, following the revision of the Act on Testimony and Appraisal Before the National Assembly, perjury and related offenses can now be referred for prosecution with the joint signatures of a majority of all committee members. He said, “The intent was that when the chair refuses to file a complaint in his or her own name, a majority can do so through joint signatures,” and criticized, “By disregarding that intent and filing complaints without a committee resolution, the precondition itself is being violated, is it not?”

Earlier, on the 2nd, lawmakers from the Democratic Party of Korea, the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, and the Social Democratic Party who sit on the Political Affairs Committee visited the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office in Seoul and filed complaints for alleged perjury against seven people: Independence Hall of Korea President Kim Hyungseok, former Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission Chair Yoo Cheolhwan, Chairman Kim Byungjoo, MBK Partners Vice Chairman Kim Kwangil, Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission Spokesperson Jeong Jaechang, Myeongnyundang CEO Lee Jonggeun, and The Swing CEO Kim Hyungsan.

The ruling-bloc members of the Political Affairs Committee who brought the complaints argued that they had repeatedly asked Political Affairs Committee Chair Yoon Hanhong of the People Power Party over the past year or so to file the complaints, but that Chair Yoon only proceeded selectively with complaint procedures, leaving them with no choice but to act independently.

Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Yongman said, “We did this because there was no consultation,” and continued, “If you decide by the full committee meeting on the 23rd whether to file complaints against these seven people and give us an answer, we will withdraw our complaints and reopen discussions.”

Fellow Democratic Party lawmaker Park Beomgye also said, “Among the witnesses, there are bad actors who offend the public’s sense of justice and cross a red line,” and added, “It would be good if you, Mr. Chair, would not just sit there with your arms folded but instead take the lead in selecting the bad actors and organizing matters so that complaints are filed against them.”

In response, Chair Yoon said, “The Democratic Party unilaterally pushed through the Act on Testimony and Appraisal Before the National Assembly despite opposition from the People Power Party, and now they are not even complying with that law,” and asked rhetorically, “You have already filed the complaints, so what agreement is needed? Shouldn’t you be apologizing to the chair?”

As shouting continued to erupt from the seats, Chair Yoon declared a recess.

The Political Affairs Committee had convened that day to receive work reports from nine institutions: the Financial Services Commission, the Financial Supervisory Service, the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Korea Asset Management Corporation, the Korea Housing Finance Corporation, the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund, the Korea Development Bank, the Industrial Bank of Korea, and the Korea Inclusive Finance Agency.

Meanwhile, the committee agreed to extend the review deadline for a public petition calling for the reinstatement of the military service extra points system until the expiration of the 22nd National Assembly, after the 150-day statutory review period had already passed.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.