Stop summoning business heads to audits

The National Assembly has begun this year’s regular audit on the performance of the government. The annual inspection has been mandated under the Constitutional amendment in 1987 to enable the legislature to keep watch over state management and check the government. But the Assembly has been over-stretching its power to summon corporate heads to hearings.

The Health and Welfare Committee has summoned Kim So-hyang who runs a Korean franchise of tanghulu candied fruits, which has been causing a health concern for children due to their popularity in Korea. Medical experts have warned the snack could hurt the diet and dental health of children and teenagers, in particular.

The legislature must examine health threats to our teenagers and demand government measures. But keeping watch on government activities and questioning a businessperson running a legitimate business is different. Tanghulu cannot be the sole snack that can cause a health risk from over-consumption.

The head of the business should not be singled out as the culprit among many food and franchise industries to be grilled by lawmakers, as if her business was doing something wrong. If there are health risks, lawmakers should be asking experts from the medical field or those concerned with teen issues instead of the business owner.

The list of businessmen called up to legislative hearings has been getting longer and longer each year. The number more than doubled to 144 last year from 63 in 2020. The number will mostly likely be bigger than last year, as the standing committees have yet to finalize their list on figures to summon. But most of them are irrelevant to state affairs and policymaking of the government.

The legislature rounds up the list through coordination among bargaining party members of the standing committees. They vie to summon heavyweights. Lee Hae-jin, founder and global investment officer (GIO) of internet giant Naver, had to sit through a hearing for more than 9 hours during last year’s session. But he was given just 3 minutes to speak out and could only repeat that he was sorry about a critical breakdown of the network system when he was grilled by lawmakers.

Wasting businesspeople’s time and causing public disgrace should not be the role of the legislature. “Calling up corporate heads to scorn them is a form of bullying by lawmakers,” said Lee Jong-cheon, a professor of business management at Soongsil University. The National Assembly’s inspection should be confined to government offices and the public sector — and lawmakers must minimize their summoning of business heads for state affairs. Lawmakers must correct this practice if they really want to contribute to building a business-friendly environment.