Opposition lawmakers stepped up their criticism Tuesday against Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan for allegedly playing a key role in a policy that has increased public debt by trillions of won.

Choi served in the Lee Mung-bak administration as the minister of knowledge economy, a post that is believed to have played a leading role in implementing Lee’s “resource diplomacy.”

President Lee’s foreign policy aimed to reduce South Korea’s energy dependence on Middle East crude oil by allowing South Korean public companies to participate in development projects in other regions that are rich in natural resources, such as Central Asia and Canada.

But the opposition alleges that Lee’s projects have been wasteful, spending trillions of won of public money without meaningful results.

On Tuesday, senior main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy lawmakers demanded Choi and Lee Sang-deuk, the older brother of former President Lee, who was another key official directing the policy, to attend sessions of the ongoing parliamentary audits of the government.

“Key officials of the Lee Myung-bak administration must attend the parliamentary audits to explain all the boondoggling that occurred under their watch,” Rep. Baek Jae-hyun of the NPAD said.

“Mr. Choi served in President Lee’s Cabinet from 2009 to 2011 for 16 months when the projects had reached their peaks.”

Choi must take responsibility for his actions, Baek said.

Opposition officials have charged that of the more than 70 energy-related MOUs that Korea signed with foreign governments from 2008 to 2012, only one has led to an actual contract.

Critics of Lee’s pet project abroad have also charged that the former president’s foreign policies increased public debt by more than 56 trillion won ($53 billion), citing tallies by the Board of Audit and Inspection of Korea and the Korea Institute of Public Finance, a public think tank.

According to the same studies, the Korea National Oil Corporation, the Korea Gas Corporation, and the Korea Resources Company invested more than 24 trillion won for a return of less than 5 trillion won.

Choi, who is also serving as a Saenuri Party lawmaker in Seoul’s National Assembly, has not responded to the opposition’s latest demands. Choi has, however, already attended a different session of the parliamentary audits last Friday, in his capacity as a senior economic policymaker.

By Jeong Hunny (hj257@heraldcorp.com)