The People Power Party pressed for audits of Kim Hyun-ji, senior presidential secretary for the president's schedule and personal affairs, and Lee Dong-ho, the eldest son of President Lee Jae-myung, during a confirmation hearing for special inspector nominee Choi Gil-soo. The ruling Democratic Party countered that the allegations were groundless and called instead for audits of officials from the Yoon Suk-yeol administration. At the hearing, held ahead of the revival of the special inspector system after a decade, political clashes over the scope and targets of audits overshadowed scrutiny of the nominee himself.
At the hearing before the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee on the 18th, the possibility of auditing Kim — who has been labeled a power behind the scenes since the early days of the Lee administration — emerged as the central issue.
Rep. Kwak Kyu-taek of the People Power Party said it was widely known that the presidential office had personnel channels linked to the first lady and to Kim. "If someone outside the normal personnel channels intervenes, wouldn't that naturally become a target for an audit?" he said.
The opposition argues that Kim should be subject to scrutiny given allegations that she has effectively been involved in the work of the presidential office's senior secretary for personnel affairs and chief of staff. Kim is not covered by the current special inspector law, but if allegations that she was involved in the duties of the chief of staff or the senior secretary for personnel affairs — both of whom are subject to audits — are confirmed, related facts could be investigated.
Asked by Rep. Joo Jin-woo of the People Power Party whether Kim alone could be treated as sacrosanct, Choi said a review would be needed regarding third parties who are not subject to audits, signaling caution about investigating targets outside the audit scope without a revision of the law.
The opposition also raised the need to audit the president's eldest son, Lee Dong-ho. Joo said a Chinese American known as Opi Huang had posted on social media a photo taken with a person believed to be Lee Dong-ho, and argued that the relationship between the two should be examined. According to Joo, Huang has engaged in fraudulent activity including the illegal sale of cryptocurrency products. "Opi Huang himself posted on TikTok, writing Lee Dong-ho in English and underneath it, 'Korean president's son,'" Joo said. Choi replied that he would investigate if it proved to be a problem under the principles of his office.
The Democratic Party countered that the opposition's claims amounted to a political attack based on unverified allegations. Rep. Kim Han-kyu of the Democratic Party said of the photo presented by Joo that it had already been made public last year through the YouTube channel Garosero Institute.
Ruling party lawmakers instead pushed back by raising the need for audits into allegations of personnel interference by the presidential office under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration. Rep. Park Jie-won of the Democratic Party said there had been many abuses by ministers and secretaries under the Yoon administration and asked that they be reviewed carefully and audited. Rep. Kim Dong-ah, targeting Joo, who served as legal affairs secretary under the Yoon administration, said there were allegations that the legal affairs secretary had taken part in the meeting that reversed the National Security Council's conclusion on the shooting of a South Korean official in the Yellow Sea, conducting legal analysis and providing related material.
Allegations involving Choi's real estate holdings also came under scrutiny. Regarding claims that he lived in an apartment in Paju for only 68 days, he said he had bought the unit in a presale intending to live there but moved for various reasons.
