On the 4th, the first day of the state audit, the ruling and opposition parties focused only on political affairs, with the livelihoods behind them. In the pique demonstration that day, lawmakers from the opposition and opposition parties produced troublesome scenes from beginning to end. Even though it was something I had already guessed, I had a glimmer of expectation, but this expectation was shattered within one day of the national inspection. In the end, the scenery on the first day of the chief of state did not change and only the ‘irritability index’ of the people was raised a lot.
The National Assembly Administrative Safety Committee and the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee were far from the current national affairs, but they were far away. At the Office of the Interior and Safety Committee, Democratic Party lawmaker Hae-sik Lee said, “The Yun Seok-yeol administration is too consistent with lies,” and a war of words began, and a raging drama was demonstrated by hitting the desk. The National Assembly of the Foreign Affairs Committee also suffered lameness, such as exchanging disputes over the issue of Foreign Minister Park Jin leaving the meeting and adjourning it within 30 minutes of the opening. In the Judiciary Committee, when a Democratic lawmaker appeared on his laptop with a sign saying ‘Stop political oppression’, the People’s Power lawmakers countered with a picket saying ‘Politics National Guard NO, People’s Livelihood Commissioner YES’.
The National Assembly is the time to call the heads of the government and subordinate public institutions for each standing committee to inspect the overall state affairs and to suggest alternatives. It is also called the ‘flower of the National Assembly’ as the most important legislative activity of the National Assembly, the representative institution of the people. Members of the National Assembly can take care of issues of livelihood that are directly related to people’s lives and demand correction of wrongdoings. Nevertheless, it is regrettable that this precious time is being stained with ‘political national inspectorate’ rather than ‘policy national inspectorate’.
Currently, our economy is experiencing a sharp decline in stock prices due to economic downturn and inflation, and the exchange rate has reached a new high in 13 years and 6 months. The trade balance is expected to record a record-high deficit this year as import prices such as raw materials continue to deteriorate. The common people and the self-employed are being driven into dead-end streets due to high interest rates and high prices. North Korea test-fired its 23rd missile this year alone, including 21 ballistic missiles and 2 cruise missiles, and the situation around the Korean Peninsula is taking an unusual turn.
Even though the situation is so serious, the politicians are unaware of the dawn of a fight. The National Assembly should stop the political strife even now and be faithful to the original task of inspecting the state affairs. I hope that the old habits and bad habits will not be repeated even for the remainder of the National Inspection Period.