Arguments, insults and political circus acts dominate day 3 of 'YouTube Shorts-style' audit
Published: 16 Oct. 2025, 18:10
Updated: 16 Oct. 2025, 18:47
![Rep. Choi Hyuck-jin, an independent, holds up a panel featuring a photoshopped image of Chief Justice Jo Hee-de that superimposed the face of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the Japanese warlord who invaded Korea in the 16th century, during a parliamentary audit of the Supreme Court by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Oct. 13. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/10/16/bd9a5fcf-cbb5-4e70-9c29-a66aa0135b04.jpg)
Rep. Choi Hyuck-jin, an independent, holds up a panel featuring a photoshopped image of Chief Justice Jo Hee-de that superimposed the face of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the Japanese warlord who invaded Korea in the 16th century, during a parliamentary audit of the Supreme Court by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Oct. 13. [YONHAP]
Day three of the Lee Jae Myung administration's first parliamentary audit on Wednesday saw more insults than inquiries, as lawmakers turned the oversight process into a political circus filled with personal attacks, profanity and disorder.
Critics call it a “YouTube Shorts-style audit,” accusing lawmakers of prioritizing "what will get made into viral YouTube clips" over providing solutions to issues or holding parties accountable for social problems.
On Wednesday morning, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee’s on-site audit at the Supreme Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, was thrown into disarray after Choo Mi-ae, the committee chair and former justice minister, abruptly declared a suspension of proceedings. Choo insisted on conducting an on-site inspection of Supreme Court justices’ offices and the research judge chambers, an unprecedented move that drew sharp criticism.
The Democratic Party (DP), which had already made headlines on Monday for grilling Chief Justice Jo Hee-de for 85 minutes and denying him the customary courtesy of early dismissal, refused even to hear introductory remarks from Cheon Dae-yeop, head of the National Court Administration. When DP members walked out of the hearing room, Cheon was awkwardly flipping through documents, repeatedly sitting down and standing up.
“This is the first time in constitutional history that lawmakers have attempted to inspect the chambers of Supreme Court justices,” said Chang Young-soo, a professor at Korea University’s School of Law. “It’s a blatant disregard for the principle of judicial independence.”
![Lawmakers from both parties engage in a heated exchange during a parliamentary audit by the Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Oct. 14, after Democratic Party Rep. Kim Woo-young revealed a text message sent by People Power Party Rep. Park Jeong-hun during his questioning. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/10/16/4afe35db-b06a-4f01-92be-d48335b9ac5a.jpg)
Lawmakers from both parties engage in a heated exchange during a parliamentary audit by the Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Oct. 14, after Democratic Party Rep. Kim Woo-young revealed a text message sent by People Power Party Rep. Park Jeong-hun during his questioning. [YONHAP]
Also on Monday, Rep. Choi Hyuck-jin, an independent, sparked outrage by holding up a panel featuring a photoshopped image of Jo that superimposed the face of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the Japanese warlord who invaded Korea in the 16th century. Rep. Choi claimed that Jo had been recommended by former first lady Kim Keon Hee’s stepfather and suggested his appointment was part of a plot to turn Korea’s judiciary into “Japan’s Supreme Court.”
Lawmakers also presented unverified rumors and manipulated images from the internet as evidence. Even within the ruling party, frustration mounted. “What’s the point of preparing tens of thousands of pages of questions when groundless claims like these hijack the spotlight?” one official lamented.
But there's a reason lawmakers keep doing this: because it works, despite the backlash. In fact, Rep. Choi saw his profile rise thanks to short-form clips on platforms like YouTube Shorts, which drew significant views and attention from hard-line supporters.
“Lawmakers seem more focused on how to be provocative than on policy,” said Cho Won-bin, an associate professor of political science at Sungkyunkwan University. “They see these viral moments as a prime opportunity to appeal to their base.”
Such confrontations have erupted across multiple committees. During the audit of the Ministry of Employment and Labor by the Environment and Labor Committee on Wednesday, conservative People Power Party (PPP) lawmaker Kim Wi-sang, formerly of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, denounced alleged “spy activity within labor organizations.”
In response, Progressive Party Rep. Jeong Hye-kyeong accused Kim of defaming the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and shouted back while gesturing aggressively. The two exchanged pointed finger jabs, bringing proceedings to a halt.
![On Oct. 15, Rep. Kim Wi-sang of the People Power Party and Rep. Jeong Hye-kyeong of the Progressive Party clash during a parliamentary audit of the Ministry of Employment and Labor by the Environment and Labor Committee at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Oct. 15, over whether to summon a representative from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions as a witness. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/10/16/4f9a4ede-14ac-4957-ab7d-5909fd5e0b6b.jpg)
On Oct. 15, Rep. Kim Wi-sang of the People Power Party and Rep. Jeong Hye-kyeong of the Progressive Party clash during a parliamentary audit of the Ministry of Employment and Labor by the Environment and Labor Committee at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Oct. 15, over whether to summon a representative from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions as a witness. [NEWS1]
Meanwhile, an incident involving offensive text messages at the Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee on Tuesday spilled over into police complaints filed by both major parties the following day. The DP filed a complaint against PPP Rep. Park Jeong-hun for sending a profanity-laced message and raised allegations linking a presidential aide to a far-right group. The PPP, in turn, filed a complaint against DP Rep. Kim Woo-young for publicly disclosing Rep. Park’s message and phone number.
Kim had revealed a message from Park that read, “Ugh, what a pathetic loser!” Park responded, “That was a private message — you need to leave,” and went on to shout, “Hey, get out, you [expletive]!”
Another incident unfolded at the Legislation and Judiciary Committee on the same day when senior DP lawmaker Park Jie-won told PPP members interrupting his questions to “be quiet,” prompting PPP Rep. Shin Dong-uk to accuse him of speaking informally. Park retorted, “If you're going to speak to me that way, go ahead.”
Baseless hearsay has also made its way into audit questioning. During the Health and Welfare Committee audit on Tuesday, several lawmakers accused Chinese nationals of fraudulently receiving Korean health insurance benefits.
PPP Rep. Choi Bo-yun claimed that “70.7 percent of all foreign insurance fraud cases involve Chinese nationals.” But Health Minister Jeong Eun-kyeong rebutted that 99.5 percent of such cases were due to employers failing to report employee terminations promptly, not intentional fraud by the users themselves.
At the Judiciary Committee on Monday, DP lawmaker Jang Kyung-tae alleged, based on a tip, that Judge Ji Gwi-yeon had received entertainment hospitality more than 10 times and criticized the ethics oversight as inadequate. Supreme Court ethics officer Choi Jin-soo replied, “There is no evidence whatsoever to support those claims.”
Lee Sun-woo, a professor of political science at Jeonbuk National University, said the toxic atmosphere was a by-product of partisan incentives.
“With both party leadership and individual lawmakers increasingly catering to hard-line supporters, there’s little room left for self-correction.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM GYU-TAE, JO SU-BIN [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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