Ruling and opposition clash over Kim Taegyu's attendance at Steering Committee audit over 'insurrection remarks'; session suspended

Han Byeongdo: "Cannot accept questions from a figure who defends insurrection"
Opposition: "Provide grounds: Is it disqualification or recusal?"

Ruling and opposition lawmakers engaged in a heated shouting match over People Power Party lawmaker Kim Tae-gyu's participation in the National Assembly Steering Committee's audit of state administration on Oct. 29.

That afternoon, as Kim entered the audit room, Cheon Jun-ho of the Democratic Party of Korea, the ruling party's floor secretary on the Steering Committee, said, "I ask that the committee immediately take steps to remove him from his post. If [the People Power Party] does not agree, I ask Chair Han Byeong-do to take action to have him removed from the room."

People Power Party lawmaker Kim Tae-gyu questions officials during a National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee audit of state administration held at the Daegu High Court on the 20th. Yonhap News

The People Power Party questioned the grounds for requiring Kim to resign or leave. Yoon Yong-geun of the People Power Party said, "Earlier, Democratic Party lawmakers said that Committee Member Kim should not be here, so I looked up the National Assembly Inspection and Investigation Act. Other than the provisions on disqualification and recusal in Article 13, there is nothing that would prevent a lawmaker from conducting an audit in the audit room." Yoon added, "Does this fall under disqualification, or is there a reason for recusal? You have to provide the grounds."

In response, Democratic Party lawmaker Jeon Yong-gi countered, "Kim denied the Constitution." Jeon said, "All of a lawmaker's powers come from the Constitution. That includes the right to question, parliamentary immunity, and the power to conduct audits of state administration. But he denied the Constitution," and asked, "We can no longer continue the meeting. Please suspend it."

The audit was suspended as the ruling and opposition parties continued to clash over Kim's eligibility to participate. Han Byeong-do, a Democratic Party lawmaker and chair of the Steering Committee, said, "I cannot accept that someone who defends and glorifies an insurrection is a member of our committee and is questioning witnesses today." He asked the floor secretaries of both parties to "discuss how to resolve this issue" before declaring a recess.

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