During the process of the National Assembly examining the settlement of account for government agencies, the name of Kim Hyun-ji, the Secretary for General Affairs of the Office of the President, emerged. Typically, the Secretary for General Affairs attends the settlement of account examination of the Office of the President, but instead of Secretary Kim, who is a key aide to President Lee Jae-myung, the financial planning advisor from the Office of the President appeared. Members of the People Power Party pointed out that Secretary Kim must attend the budget review held after the settlement of account.
The Settlement of Account Examination Subcommittee of the Special Committee on Budget & Accounts reviewed the "2024 fiscal year settlement of account and approval of reserve expenditure" at the National Assembly on the morning of the 5th. On that day, settlements were examined for a total of 11 agencies, including the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the Ministry of Justice, the Legislative Affairs Office, the Audit Office, and the Office of the President.
The first statement in the meeting regarding the proceedings came during the examination of the Office of the President and the National Security Office. The reason was that Liu Deok-hyeon, the financial planning advisor in the Office of the President, appeared, breaking the custom of having the Secretary for General Affairs present during the settlement examination of the Office of the President. For the past 17 years since 2008, the Secretary for General Affairs has attended the settlement examinations of the National Assembly pertaining to the Office of the President.
Kim Dae-sik, a member of the People Power Party, stated, "It is a very serious problem that Secretary Kim, who oversees the budget of the Office of the President, did not attend the settlement subcommittee. The settlement subcommittee is a place to thoroughly check the execution of the budget of each department, including the Office of the President, and to verify whether the people's tax money was properly spent, so the Secretary for General Affairs, who is responsible for the Office of the President's budget, should have come."
He continued, "Since Secretary Kim is considered to be one of President Lee Jae-myung's closest aides, he should come even more. Isn't it rather that he is intentionally avoiding it? He has neglected his responsibilities in front of the watchful eyes of the public, and I strongly claim that the Secretary for General Affairs must personally attend the settlement examination."
Liu, who attended instead of Secretary Kim, explained, "As announced in the budget review committee, I was instructed to attend as the Vice Minister-level financial planning advisor. While the Secretary for General Affairs is related to the budget of the Office of the President, the financial planning advisor is designated to oversee the budget and settlement related to national agencies."
Jo Jeong-hoon, a member of the People Power Party, pointed out that the purpose of the newly established financial planning advisory position in this government is far from the management of the Office of the President. He stated, "The financial planning advisor was created in the process of separating planning from finance, with significant influence from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and this position was not intended to manage the president's household budget. Be a little more honest; will the advisor come out every time during the settlement examination?"
Meanwhile, members of the Democratic Party argued that there was "nothing wrong" since a Vice Minister-level person came. Lee So-young, a member of the Democratic Party and the ruling party's secretary for the budget review committee, stated, "When other ministries have Vice Minister-level officials attending, the Office of the President also has to come from a high-level official capable of accepting any discipline or audits. Therefore, discussing who should or should not attend when there is no corrective demand is unnecessary."
Park Hyung-soo, a member of the People Power Party and chair of the settlement subcommittee, ordered that Secretary Kim must attend the budget review. He said, "I believe it is inappropriate for the financial planning advisor to attend the settlement examination, but since there are no deliberative matters for the Office of the President, we will proceed today (the 5th) with the financial planning advisor present and ensure that the Secretary for General Affairs attends during the budget review."