On day one of the parliamentary audit Wednesday, President Moon Jae-in held a meeting with his top aides.
While stressing the need for the inspection,... the South Korean leader urged the National Assembly to not impose a double standard.
Our Cheongwadae correspondent Hwang Hojun reports.
President Moon acknowledged the occasion as a way for the National Assembly to exercise checks and balances on the executive branch, but he also called it an chance for the administration to look back on its work over the past year.
Thus, he called on his administration to participate sincerely in the audit, as if it were answering the people directly.
"We must embrace the sound points made and the reasonable alternatives proposed and reflect them in our policies. At the same time, we should be sure to clarify the facts and the government's position when it comes to any falsehoods or misunderstandings."
At the same time, he criticized the National Assembly for not honoring its constitutional duties.
He denounced lawmakers for failing to adopt confirmation hearing reports on the three Constitutional Court justice nominees,... which created a vacuum on the court after the three outgoing justices stepped down three weeks ago.
President Moon called it an infringement of the people's constitutional rights.
He also blasted Parliament for putting the process of ratifying the Panmunjom Declaration on hold.
"Conditions on the Korean Peninsula are fast moving forward, but the National Assembly is standing still as it fails to even refer the ratification bill to the relevant parliamentary committee."
It was September 11th when the government submitted its bill to ratify the agreement signed by President Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the first inter-Korean summit in April.
The bill was submitted a week before the South Korean leader left for Pyeongyang for his third summit with his North Korean counterpart.
President Moon urged the National Assembly to support and join the government's efforts to write a new history of peace on the Korean Peninsula, which he said is what the South Korean people sincerely desire.
And the international community, he noted, is watching closely.
Hwang Hojun, Arirang News.
