1st parliamentary inspection of Park administration

The National Assembly kicked off its first parliamentary inspection of government Monday since the inauguration of the Park Geun-hye administration. Starting with inspections by 12 standing committees, including the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, the Science, ICT, Future Planning, Broadcasting and Communications Committee, and the Education, Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee on the day, the National Assembly will conduct inspections on the government’s policy and implementation of budget for 20 days through November 2.

The leaderships of the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic Party vowed in unison on Monday morning, saying, “We will conduct parliamentary inspection of government aimed at improving people’s livelihoods,” but they faced off at some standing committees over pending issues.

At the inspection of the Health and Welfare Ministry by the Health and Welfare Committee, members of opposition parties staged all-out offensives over the government’s planned link between the basic pension and the national pension in connection with planned revision to the basic pension system. As a result, questions and answers on agendas other than the basic pension were not adequately addressed. Rep. Lee Mok-hee, secretary for the opposition party at the committee, said, “The government’s bill on the basic pension is a vicious law that causes conflict and sense of inequity among the public by creating discrimination between generations.”

At the inspection of the Science, ICT and Future Planning Ministry by the Science, ICT, Future Planning, Broadcasting and Communications Committee, lawmakers of opposition parties made a flurry of critical comments on the concept of "creative economy," which the Park administration is pushing for as its flagship agenda, and related policies that are poorly devised. “The Science, ICT and Future Planning Ministry, which should achieve creative economy, has only created memoranda of understanding between ministries for over than half a year,” said Rep. Jun Byung-hun, the floor leader of the Democratic Party. “Some critics jokingly call the ministry an ‘MOU ministry,’ rather than the future ministry.”

At the inspection conducted at the Supreme Court by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, ruling and opposition parties staged a war of nerves over the case regarding the National Intelligence Service`s former chief Won Se-hoon’s alleged intervention in politics and indictment due to alleged interference in the presidential election. When Saenuri Party Lawmaker Kwon Seong-dong said, “Opposition party lawmakers are wielding undue influence on the court by claiming him to be guilty by accusing him with unconfirmed facts,” Democratic Party lawmaker Park Beom-gye said, “We speak highly of the court for requesting the prosecution to submit for trials the case involving senior NIS officials, of whom prosecutors suspended indictment.”

Education, Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, which started inspection of the Education Ministry and affiliated organizations, only continued remarks for progress of proceedings over whether and who to adopt as witnesses in connection with Korean textbooks published by Kyohaksa, and only managed to begin questioning in the afternoon.

This year’s parliamentary inspections will probe 628 organizations, the most ever, and thus critics doubt whether inspections will be conducted in a proper and practical fashion.