“Conservative female warrior” appears on YouTube during impeachment trial… Resolution of Lee Jin-sook’s request for audit

Lee Jin-sook (left), chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, who was suspended from office due to the passage of the impeachment bill by the National Assembly, is being interviewed on YouTube’s ‘Pen & Mike’ on the 10th of last month. Provided by Pen & Microphone

The National Assembly’s Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting and Communications Committee approved a request for an audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection of Korea Communications Commission Chairman Lee Jin-sook, who appeared on a conservative YouTube channel and made political remarks even during the impeachment trial.

At around 8:40 p.m. on the 24th, the Committee on Defense and Security held a plenary meeting during the Korea Communications Commission’s comprehensive audit of government affairs and passed Chairman Lee’s request for an audit with 13 people in favor and 6 against. People Power Party lawmaker Choi Soo-jin, who was deprived of the right to speak by Chairman Choi Min-hee, did not enter the meeting hall.

Chairman Lee appeared on YouTube’s ‘Pen and Mike’ on the 10th of last month and said to the host who called her a ‘conservative female warrior’, “I really appreciate your words,” and added, “We need warriors who fight fake leftists.” On the 24th of the same month, the ‘Ta-da-but-ta Bae Seung-hee Live’ channel said, “The Democratic Party of Korea and left-wing groups are groups that do everything we can imagine.” Chairman Lee was suspended from his duties at the same time as the National Assembly passed the impeachment bill on August 2nd.

After being suspended from office, Chairman Lee continued to make political remarks through Facebook.

Democratic Party lawmaker Jo In-cheol, who proposed the audit request, said, “Far from reflecting on himself after the impeachment, Chairman Lee continues to pour out hostile and biased political messages against the opposition party,” and added, “He is violating the political neutrality section of the National Public Officials Act.”

Rep. Cho also commented on the Korea Communications Standards Commission’s appointment of Professor Baek Seon-ki, chairman of Chairman Ryu Hee-rim’s graduate school advisor, as chairman of the Election Broadcasting Deliberation Committee twice, and the appointment of Han Jeong-seok, former head of KBS Plus Production Division, who caused controversy for his far-right remarks, as a defense committee member. He said an audit should be requested.

Rep. Choi Hyeong-du, secretary of the People Power Party, said, “Personally, I do not agree with the Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission going out and talking about something like that during the impeachment,” but added, “We have already filed an impeachment prosecution, which is tantamount to heavy political punishment, and are awaiting an impeachment trial. Here is another request for an audit. “By submitting this, the National Assembly has come under the stigma of abusing its power,” he said.

Rep. Kim Hyun, a secretary of the Democratic Party, said, “Chairman Lee has been suspended from his duties, but his status as a public servant is maintained, and he can be seen in the YouTube video being very happy to hear that she is a female conservative warrior, and it will not be an issue at all when he later appears at the National Assembly as a witness.” He said, “It is the responsibility of the comprehensive audit to take action against the facts and political bias discovered by the audit agency.”