Hearing on public funds scandal goes up in smoke

The parliamentary hearing on the use of public funds to bail out the local financial sector fizzled out Saturday after the ruling and opposition parties spent five days arguing over the method of questioning witnesses.

Representatives of the two sides on the select committee on public funds, formed to look into the management of the funds, met to discuss resumption of the hearing following the Lunar New Year holiday, but failed to agree on the duration of the hearing and the summoning of additional witnesses.

The Grand National Party called for joint questioning, extension of the hearing period and the summoning of senior presidential secretaries, both former and present, to testify at the hearing, as well as a live telecast of the hearing sessions. The Millennium Democratic Party and the United Liberal Democrats rejected the demands, saying they ran counter to already established procedural agreements.

Meanwhile, the National Assembly select committee on the Hanvit Bank loan scandal also wrapped up its investigation with no accord on the adoption of a hearing report or the prosecution of those who committed perjury.

Kim Jung-Hoon jnghn@donga.com