Strategy and Finance Committee Selects Witnesses and References... Baemin and Google Korea Included, Yongbeom Kim Excluded

Examining Woowa Brothers’ Fund Transfer Structure
Corporate Tax Review for Google Korea
Kim Yongbeom and Yeo Hankoo Requested by Opposition Excluded

The National Assembly's Budget and Economy Planning Committee selected a total of 10 witnesses and reference persons on the 28th to be called for the upcoming state audit scheduled for next month.

Democratic Party lawmaker Seungrae Cho, chairman of the National Assembly's Budget and Economy Planning Committee (from the left), Democratic Party secretary Kihyung Oh, and People Power Party secretary Junyoung Bae are consulting on the adoption of witnesses to appear at the upcoming state audit during the full meeting of the Budget and Economy Planning Committee held at the National Assembly on the 28th. Photo by Yonhap News

At a full committee meeting on this day, the Budget and Economy Planning Committee approved the "Request for Attendance of Witnesses and Reference Persons for the 2026 State Audit." The list includes a total of ten people: six witnesses and four reference persons. Specifically, the selected individuals are: ▲ Kim Beom-seok, CEO of Woowa Brothers (operator of Baedal Minjok); ▲ Yoon Goo, President of Google Korea; ▲ Kim Jongchul, CEO and President of Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI); ▲ Choi Haksoo, CEO of SK Energy; ▲ Koo Kyoun, Chairman of Daebang Group; among others.

The committee stated it intends to question CEO Kim Beom-seok regarding the structure of fund transfers to Woowa Brothers’ overseas parent company and to examine the appropriateness of domestic taxation and withholding. For President Yoon Goo, questions will focus on suspicions of corporate tax avoidance and tax evasion. CEO Kim Jongchul will be asked about losses incurred by the oil refining industry due to the implementation of the petroleum price ceiling system, as well as the government’s criteria for loss compensation, funding arrangements, and the progress of payments.

Meanwhile, Kim Yongbeom, former policy chief at the Blue House, and Yeo Hankoo, former Director-General for Trade Negotiations, who were requested as witnesses by the People Power Party, were excluded from the list due to opposition from the Democratic Party. Oh Kihyung, Democratic Party lawmaker and the committee’s secretary from the ruling party, explained, "The Democratic Party also requested Choi Sangmok, former Deputy Prime Minister, and Chu Kyungho, Mayor of Daegu, to be included as witnesses, but their selection was blocked due to opposition from the opposition party." The ruling and opposition parties plan to hold a second round of consultations regarding the selection of witnesses and reference persons going forward.

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