This year's parliamentary audit will see the largest-ever number of business leaders take the stand. Even though the Democratic Party of Korea leadership issued guidance ahead of the audit not to indiscriminately summon chief executive officers (CEOs) or heads of corporations, the competition for sharper messaging led by hard-liners in both the ruling and opposition parties has once again turned the mass appearances by corporate figures at the audit into reality.
According to political circles on the 2nd, the Public Administration and Security Committee held a full session on the 1st and approved 53 general witnesses for the audit. The committee, which oversees the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Korean National Police Agency, the National Fire Agency, and the Seoul Metropolitan Government, normally does not summon many corporate witnesses due to its nature, but this audit is different.
The list of witness attendance requests approved by the committee includes Hyundai Motor Group Chair Chung Eui-sun, SKT CEO Ryu Young-sang, KT CEO Kim Young-sub, Lotte Card CEO Cho Joa-jin, 21gram CEO Kim Tae-young, Hyundai E&C CEO Lee Han-woo, Hyundai Motor Group Business Management Team Head Lee Jae-yong, LG Energy Solution CEO Kim Dong-myung, LG CNS CEO Hyun Shin-gyun, EPIKorea CEO Bae Moon-chan, DB Insurance CEO Jung Jong-pyo, KB Insurance CEO Koo Bon-uk, and Karrot CEO Hwang Do-yeon. Theborn Korea CEO Paik Jong-won and Hanwha Eagles CEO Park Jong-tae are also on the list. Regardless of industry or the size of corporations, owners and CEOs across a wide range of sectors will appear before the committee.
The reasons the committee is summoning corporate figures are also varied. While there are major pending issues such as personal data breaches and the fire at the National Information Resources Service, some lawmakers listed questions related to the transfer of the presidential residence office in Yongsan, alleged violations of the Subcontracting Act in construction at the Yongsan residence, and storm and flood insurance as the purpose of their questioning and application.
A government affairs liaison at a corporation said, "Expectations were high for this audit because the ruling party leadership said it would minimize corporate appearances, but as lawmakers from both parties competitively applied for witnesses, the number of corporate witnesses has become the largest ever."
In last year's audit, which had the most corporate witnesses, 159 corporate figures were requested across all 17 standing committees of the National Assembly. This year has already surpassed that number. An analysis by ChosunBiz of witness lists from 13 committees that had completed selections by the 1st found 189 corporate witnesses, including owners, CEOs, and executives (including duplicates). As some committees have yet to finalize their lists, there are projections that the number could surpass 200 for the first time ever.
The practice of calling owner families as witnesses remains unchanged. Among the heads of major conglomerates selected as witnesses for this audit are SK Group Chair Chey Tae-won, DL Group Chair Lee Hae-uk, GS Engineering and Construction CEO Heo Yoon-hong, Shinsegae Group Chair Chung Yong-jin, and Hyundai Motor Group Chair Chung Eui-sun.
The National Policy Committee, which selected Chair Chey Tae-won as a witness, plans to call him to examine unfair support practices among SK Group affiliates. Oct. 28, the date Chey was selected as a witness, falls during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) period in Gyeongju. Chey is serving as chair of the APEC CEO Summit, prompting concerns about a schedule conflict.
Chair Chung Yong-jin was selected as a witness for the Industry Ministry's comprehensive audit, where questions are expected regarding the joint venture established by Shinsegae and China's Alibaba. The Public Administration and Security Committee, which selected Chair Chung Eui-sun as a witness, plans to question him over the Isu Group rally. An aide to a lawmaker on the Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs, and Startups Committee said, "For both Chair Chung Yong-jin and Chair Chung Eui-sun, these are not matters that warrant summoning the owner directly to the audit."
The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee called eight out of the top 10 construction company heads as witnesses. Not only Song Chi-young, president of POSCO E&C, which drew controversy over multiple industrial accidents, but most heads of major construction firms were summoned as witnesses. Some are grumbling about the standards, saying even heads of firms that manage sites well without notable accidents were called.
Corporate government affairs officials said that, unlike in previous years, the People Power Party strongly pushed for calling corporate witnesses in this audit, upending their strategy to fend off the selection of owners and CEOs. Typically, when Democratic Party of Korea offices suggested summoning corporate figures, corporate liaisons would work through People Power Party offices to postpone or scale back the witness list. This time, however, the People Power Party often took the lead in requesting corporate witnesses, creating a competitive atmosphere between the parties.
An aide in the office of a People Power Party lawmaker said, "Witnesses for the latter half of the parliamentary audit can be added," and "If partisan strife intensifies during the audit period, there could be more additional witness requests."