National Assembly Clashes Over Approval of Lee Jinsook's May 18 Forum: "Prior Screening Must Be Made Effective"

Jeon Yong-gi: "Zero auditorium rental denials in four years... Screening function effectively not working"

At the National Assembly Steering Committee’s audit on October 30, lawmakers clashed over the National Assembly Library’s decision to allow a forum that sparked controversy for disparaging the May 18 Democratization Movement to be held on its premises. The ruling party cited examples from overseas, saying, “We, too, must make our preliminary review system effective to prevent hate and discrimination,” while the opposition called the proposal “censorship.”

Yonhap News Agency

At the audit of agencies under the National Assembly’s jurisdiction, Assemblyman Kim Yoon of the Democratic Party of Korea told National Assembly Library Director Hwang Jeonggeun, “At the May 18 forum hosted by People Power Party lawmaker Lee Jin-sook, speakers repeatedly made remarks disparaging and distorting facts established by Supreme Court rulings,” and asked, “The rules allowed you to deny permission. Did you approve the event for political reasons?”

In August, Lee held a “Forum to Reexamine May 18” at the National Assembly Library with conservative groups. At the forum, speakers referred to the May 18 Democratization Movement as a “riot” and made remarks suggesting that former President Chun Doo-hwan, a key figure in the then-ruling military regime, was not responsible for the massacre, sparking controversy.

Asked why the library did not apply its rules prohibiting events that undermine the dignity of the National Assembly, Director Hwang said, “It is very difficult for us, as an institution that supports lawmakers, to determine whether a specific event constitutes conduct that undermines the dignity of the National Assembly,” adding, “We will improve the procedures.”

The People Power Party, however, argued that such measures could amount to “prior censorship.” Assemblywoman Kim Mia of the People Power Party said, “In a democracy and under the rule of law, any unlawful conduct should be dealt with afterward within the bounds of the law,” adding, “They should not deny use of the venue as if engaging in prior censorship.”

During the audit, lawmakers also called for a preliminary review system to be introduced before venues are booked. According to information obtained and reported by The Asia Business Daily through Assemblyman Jeon Yonggi of the Democratic Party of Korea, the National Assembly Library approved all 1,551 applications to book its auditorium over the past four years. There were no cases in which permission was denied. In effect, the advance approval system had become meaningless. See our October 30 report, “[Exclusive] National Assembly Library Denied No Venue Bookings in Four Years... Rules Tightened Only After May 18 Forum Controversy.”

It was only after the controversy that the National Assembly Library revised its internal rules on auditorium use. This followed a request from the National Assembly Speaker’s Office at 4 p.m. on August 12, the day before the event, to review whether it could be canceled. Director Hwang was found to have instructed staff to revise the rules, but the forum went ahead as scheduled. The rules were amended a week after the event.

As a result, lawmakers at the audit repeatedly called for the National Assembly Library to clarify the criteria for restricting facility use, as major legislatures overseas do, and to make its preliminary review system effective. For example, the German Bundestag applies a “respect for the free democratic basic order” standard to events involving outside participants, while the UK House of Commons prohibits the use of its venues for events intended to incite hatred, violence, or discrimination.

Assemblyman Jeon Yonggi said, “The fact that not a single application was denied over four years, despite the existence of rules, means that the review function was effectively not working,” adding, “We must establish a meaningful preliminary review system to ensure our National Assembly does not become a platform for distorting history, glorifying dictatorship, or inciting hatred and discrimination.”

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