Make it a thorough audit

The audit by the National Assembly will be held on Oct. 17 to Nov. 4. It is the last one before President Roh Moo-hyun’s term ends, so it must be a thorough audit to clarify and analyze incompetence and corruption during the past five years and prepare the way for the next administration. But the United New Democratic Party is trying to make the auditing focus on Lee Myung-bak. The Grand National Party is preparing to defend him and fight back.
They are competing over summoning witnesses. The new party asked four standing committees on legislation and judiciary, political affairs, finance and administration to summon dozens of witnesses regarding suspicions about Lee. The Grand National Party filed a request to summon people involved in suspicions of Shin Jeong-ah, Jung Yun-jae and the three presidential hopefuls in the new party over suspicions about illegal practices in the party primary. It even tried to summon President Roh over suspicion of violating the election law that prohibits him from electioneering. The new party began this competition over the national audit.
Under the law, events that caused social disruption can be investigated at the National Assembly’s audit. But there must be order in everything. Suspicions about Lee have been investigated within his party and by the media. The prosecution has already investigated some people. If new suspicions arise, the new party can report it and the prosecution will investigate.
The National Assembly should not waste its energy on the presidential candidate of a certain party, because the aim of the audit is to keep the administration in check. This applies to the Grand National Party, too.
Under this administration, the number of civil workers increased a great deal and the state debt snowballed. Civil workers and public corporations waste taxpayer money due to loose control because of the approaching presidential election. The public broadcaster attempts to raise the license fees while it does not restructure itself. Some civil officials, such as presidential secretaries, have no discipline. The government shuts down a pressroom in a government office and throws out journalists. If the National Assembly focuses on the fights in the presidential election campaigns, incompetent or corrupt civil workers will be happy because they will get away with their misdeeds. The National Assembly must carry out the audit properly, just as students need to study hard and the heads of families must work hard to support their families.