President Lee Jae-myung has posted a string of messages on X targeting hardliners, and analysts say the Oct. 13 National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee audit of Gyeonggi Province has in effect already begun. The account below follows Kyunghyang Shinmun's Oct. 12 report and covers only what the report confirms.
Kyunghyang Shinmun analyzed on Oct. 12 that Lee's X posts grew more frequent ahead of Gyeonggi Governor Choo Mi-ae's appearance at the committee on the 13th. Choo, a six-term former lawmaker, has the most terms among sitting provincial governors. Some observers say she could use the hearing as a political stage to rally traditional ruling-camp supporters, and that the president moved first in response.
광고 문의 · 300×250That remains a political interpretation, however. The presidential office has not officially confirmed that any particular person was targeted, and the report notes the posts did not name her directly.
A dispute that began with a personnel nomination
The trigger was the Oct. 1 transmission to the Assembly of a confirmation-hearing request for Kim Ji-yong, nominee to head the planned Serious Crimes Investigation Agency. According to Kyunghyang, Lee on X and Choo on Facebook have traded posts since. On the 5th the president wrote, in essence, that prosecutorial reform must not become a pretext for personal ambition to dictate appointments, investigations and indictments; the same day Choo replied that reform should serve national interest and justice, not private power or the interests of corrupt cartels.
On the 11th Lee referred to a person who enjoys luxury on public money while cutting welfare budgets for ordinary people without hesitation, warning that a careless blade in the hands of power can cut into people's lives. Political circles read this as directed at Choo, who declared a fiscal emergency in Gyeonggi in August and cut livelihood budgets, a process that drew controversy over an expensive official residence and official vehicle. How Choo's side responds is expected to emerge at the audit.
How the parties see it, and what to watch
Politicians on both sides weighed in. Committee chair Kim Young-jin (Democratic Party) said on Oct. 1 that Kim Ji-yong appeared to be someone former Justice Minister Choo promoted to chief prosecutor under the Moon government. Democratic secretary Lee Hae-sik asked on Facebook on the 11th whether there was no one beside the governor to give frank advice. The People Power Party's Kwon Young-jin said on the radio on the 12th that Choo seems to care more about blocking Kim's appointment than running the province.
The 13th audit is expected to take up Gyeonggi's finances, welfare cuts, the residence and vehicle controversy, and the Kim nomination Choo opposes. Kyunghyang also noted that Lee himself used audits to energize supporters as Seongnam mayor and Gyeonggi governor. What message the president sends, and how Choo answers, are the points to watch.
