It has been confirmed that Choi Min-hee, chairperson of the National Assembly Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, who is at the center of controversy for holding a child's wedding at the National Assembly during the recent parliamentary audit period, asked the audited agencies to submit execution records for congratulatory money and wreaths. In particular, because the request copied verbatim what an office of a People Power Party member on the committee asked for, the opposition is criticizing that the standing committee chairperson viewed a member's confidential inquiry.
According to a compilation of ChosunBiz reporting on the 29th, Choi Min-hee's office on the 24th asked audited agencies to submit the status of execution for other operating expenses and business promotion expenses. Specifically, it requested details executed as other operating expenses and business promotion expenses for congratulatory money, condolence money, encouragement money, wreaths, and funeral flags.
It turned out that the request for materials was first made by the office of People Power Party lawmaker Kim Jang-kyom. Kim Jang-kyom's office registered the request at about 6:20 p.m. on the 24th, and Choi Min-hee's office did so at about 7 p.m. the same day, 40 minutes apart.
The submission deadlines were the 27th (Monday) for Kim Jang-kyom's office and the 26th (Sunday) for Choi Min-hee's office. Although the request was made later than the other party's lawmaker, the People Power Party side believes there may have been an intention to receive it as soon as possible and prepare a response.
It was also found that, except for the period, the content of the requests was exactly the same. In the classification section of the request, it stated "by month, by date, by type (congratulatory money, condolence money, encouragement money, wreaths, funeral flags, etc.), recipient, expense, etc., execution details," and the wording from Kim Jang-kyom's office and from Choi Min-hee's office was identical down to the last particle. The related basic supporting documents were also the same: "approval document, expenditure resolution, receipt, etc."
Audited agencies that received the requests said it is rare for the opposing party to ask again for materials with the same content. Kim Jang-kyom's side raised an issue, saying it was inappropriate to identify a member's confidential request for materials and make an identical request. Some in the People Power Party also speculated that they might be trying to find similar past cases to avoid criticism of themselves.
People Power Party lawmaker Kim Jang-kyom said at the parliamentary audit that day, "We requested the materials confidentially, so how did Chairperson Choi Min-hee's office know within that short time that our office had requested them and even obtain the original of the request letter? One cannot help but ask whether in the past, too, the chairperson used the position to peek at and plagiarize other offices' materials while conducting legislative activities."
Choi Min-hee's office explained that after receiving a tip about the content of Kim Jang-kyom's office's request, it copied it as is and asked the audited agencies for the materials as a response.
Chairperson Choi held a child's wedding at Sarangjae in the National Assembly on the 18th, during the audit. This led to criticism that Chairperson Choi received congratulatory money and wreaths from audited agencies, constituting a conflict of interest and an abuse of authority.
On the 26th, a scene of Choi instructing a chief of staff to return the child's congratulatory money to the audited agencies was also captured by a news outlet's camera. Choi's side was also said to have unusually delivered more than 20 wedding invitations to National Assembly Secretariat staff assigned to the Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee.
Regarding the controversy over the child's wedding on the 20th, Chairperson Choi said, "I couldn't pay attention to my daughter's wedding because I was studying quantum mechanics. I am truly sorry," adding, "If you look at my questioning, as someone who majored in the humanities, I was almost unable to sleep at night because I was studying quantum mechanics."
It was newly revealed that the child of Chairperson Choi, who held a wedding at the National Assembly on the 18th, marked the wedding date as Aug. last year on personal social media (SNS). It was also found that the "wedding photos," which are typically shot several months before the ceremony, were uploaded in Sept. last year. The SNS account was switched to private after the wedding became controversial.