Legislation and Judiciary Committee Approves One-Year Extension for Itaewon Disaster Special Committee... Kim Eui-gyeom Elected Ruling Party Secretary

PPP Highlights Real Estate Speculation Allegations Before Appointment
Also Calls for a "Secret Ballot"

The National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee voted on the 1st to pass a revision to the Itaewon Tragedy Special Act, which extends the activity period of the "October 29 Itaewon Tragedy Fact-Finding and Recurrence Prevention Special Investigation Committee" by one year. If the revision bill passes the plenary session, the special committee will continue its activities until September 16 of next year.

Immediately after the passage, Special Committee Chairman Song Doo-hwan stated in his remarks, "I will carry out my duties with the utmost care, keeping in mind the thoughtful advice of the assembly members, the wishes of the bereaved families and the victims, as well as the feelings of the public," and added, "I will do my best to fulfill my mission and not betray those expectations." Earlier in the day, the revision bill passed the plenary session of the Public Administration and Security Committee, about fifteen days before the originally scheduled end of the special committee's activities.

Chairwoman Younggyo Seo is striking the gavel at the plenary session of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee on the 1st. Photo by Yonhap News

On this day, during the process of appointing Assemblyman Kim Eui-gyeom of the Democratic Party of Korea as the ruling party secretary of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, the ruling and opposition parties exchanged heated debates. Assemblyman Kwak Gyutaek of the People Power Party revisited past controversies, including allegations of real estate speculation in Heukseok-dong involving Assemblyman Kim, and suspicions regarding Han Donghoon, an independent lawmaker, attending a drinking party in Cheongdam-dong.

He also criticized the Democratic Party for not appointing Assemblywoman Na Kyung-won as the opposition secretary, saying, "They even set up an anonymous voting booth inside the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and held a vote just to embarrass Assemblywoman Na," and asserted, "Since a wrong precedent has been set, it should now be followed accordingly."

Assemblyman Kim explained, "The Heukseok-dong matter was ruled not guilty by the prosecution," and added, "The Cheongdam-dong incident occurred during a turbulent period when there was fierce confrontation and conflict. That matter will be handled properly in court as a separate issue."

Subsequently, Assemblyman Kwak withdrew his demand for anonymous voting, and Assemblyman Kim was appointed as secretary according to customary procedure. Immediately after his appointment, Assemblyman Kim stated, "If there are any concerns raised by opposition lawmakers, I will do my utmost to ensure those concerns do not materialize."

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