[앵커]
A civic group pointed out that a large number of lawmakers with potential conflicts of interest were assigned to the National Assembly Standing Committee, which deals with real estate-related affairs.
Civic groups have asked for an explanation, but less than half of the allegations have been clarified, and 17 of them have refused to give an explanation at all.
It is pointed out that the law to prevent conflicts of interest among members of the National Assembly is not well-known because detailed rules are not set.
Reporter Kim Tae-won reports.
[기자]
Rep. Park Deok-heum, who served as the secretary of the National Assembly’s land committee last year, sparked a “conflict of interest” controversy among lawmakers when a family-run construction company won hundreds of billions of won in construction orders.
He resigned from the National Land Commission and even withdrew from the party, but now he is a member of the Agricultural and Marine Inspection Service following being reinstated, and he still owns 20 billion won worth of land in Jamsil-dong, Seoul and 32,000 square meters of farmland in Hongcheon-gun, Gangwon-do.
Han Moo-kyung, a member of the Industrial Self-Defense Forces, owns a building worth 8 billion won in Banpo-dong, Seoul, and farmland of over 100,000 square meters in the countryside.
All of them were assigned to the National Assembly Standing Committee related to real estate business, but they are lawmakers who have raised suspicions of conflicts of interest because unused land was discovered.
The civic group Gyeongsilren launched its own investigation into the four standing committees related to real estate policy, members of the National Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and the Ministry of Industry and Self-Defense.
46 out of 104 lawmakers surveyed believed that there was a possibility of a conflict of interest, so they put a questionnaire in each member’s office to check whether housing and farmland were actually being used.
As a result of the 10-day investigation, 17 people, including Rep. Park Deok-heum, did not send any responses.
In addition, 11 people, including Rep. Han Moo-kyung, sent answers, but might not properly explain the allegations.
Democrats were no exception.
Rep. Ahn Ho-young, a member of the Agriculture, Marine and Fisheries Committee, whose spouse owns shops and land in the Jeollabuk-do area, remained silent.
Sanjawi member Lee Yong-bin explained that he bought land in Heukseok-dong, Gwangju to build a hospital, but it is highly likely to be a conflict of interest.
In particular, the Kyeong-Ryeon pointed out that it is questionable whether the National Assembly’s Ethics Review Advisory Committee, which examines conflicts of interest, is functioning properly.
Since the Ethics Review Advisory Committee is also made up of lawmakers, it is likely that they only care regarding ‘covering my side’.
[정지웅 변호사 / 경실련 시민입법위원장 : 심사를 제대로 하고 있는 듯한 외관만 만들어 내놓았을 뿐. (실제로) 이해 충돌이 발생할 때 조사하는 부분은 만들어 놓지 않았습니다.]
The Speaker of the National Assembly is also passive in his own midnight work.
Because there is no legal basis, it is impossible to directly investigate whether there is a conflict of interest, and to exclude a lawmaker from the standing committee, there must be a request from the representative of a negotiating group.
[윤순철 / 경실련 사무총장 : 46명 정도가 문제의 소지가 있다, 이렇게 국회의장에게 요청했습니다. 심사해서 (문제 있으면) 배제해달라고 했는데, 답이 없었죠. 무시해왔는데.]
The National Assembly amended the National Assembly Act last year, saying that it would exclude the activities of the standing committee of lawmakers who may have a conflict of interest following the so-called ‘Park Deok-heum conflict of interest’.
However, at that time, the details necessary for the deliberation of conflicts of interest were postponed to be determined by the National Assembly rule, which has been left undiscussed for a year.
This is YTN Kim Tae-won.
YTN Kim Tae-won ([email protected])
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