Chairperson Choi Min-hee of the National Assembly Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee offered explanations and apologies over the controversy surrounding her daughter's wedding during the parliamentary audit period and her order for the head of MBC's news division to leave.
At the comprehensive audit of the Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee held at the National Assembly on the 30th, Choi, the committee chair, said of the wedding controversy involving her daughter, "I apologize to the public," adding, "I deeply regret and am sorry that I did not manage things better to prevent the seeds of such controversy. It is my fault."
She refuted, point by point, the suspicions raised by the opposition party.
Choi, the chairperson, said, "The claim that our daughter held two wedding ceremonies is outrageous," and added, "The suggestion that we exercised privilege in the process of reserving Sarangjae at the National Assembly is also not true." Choi explained, "Since August last year, my daughter prepared documents for the reservation and, using my ID, proceeded with the application according to procedure," adding, "We secured the slot through competition for a vacancy created by a prior cancellation."
She also pushed back on suspicions that she distributed wedding invitations to related agencies and requested flower wreaths, saying, "That did not happen." She said, "During the audit, every agency also answered that none had received an invitation," emphasizing, "The claim that we sent invitations and even requested wreaths is not true."
Regarding the delivery of invitations to the administrative staff of the Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee, she said, "It simply meant, if you have time, come by for a meal." On the controversy over the "card payment function" included in the mobile invitation, she explained, "I did not carefully review the template provided by the vendor."
She said, "In hindsight, even if the couple's plan was set for the fall, we should have anticipated controversy in advance and taken proactive steps on the venue, schedule, cash gifts, and wreaths," adding, "I have blamed myself a lot for not doing so."
Choi, the chairperson, also bowed her head over having the head of MBC's news division escorted out after taking issue with MBC's reporting on her during a closed briefing for the MBC audit.
She said, "I acknowledge that saying, 'Then leave,' after seeing the stance of refusing to answer during the closed MBC briefing was excessive," adding, "I apologize to Foundation for Broadcast Culture Chairperson Kwon Tae-sun, who appeared for the audit."
Regarding media reports that she asked the Korea Communications Standards Commission, a supervised agency, "whether it can block critical reports about herself," she explained, "Our aide simply inquired about what procedures could resolve the issue." She continued, "If this is abuse of power against a supervised agency, I want to know why," adding, "I have no way of knowing why this would constitute privatizing the KCSC."
Choi, the chairperson, concluded, "I am sorry to the public and especially to Democratic Party lawmakers," adding, "From now on, I will act more carefully, in line with public expectations, so that controversy does not arise at all."