The National Assembly continued to lurch along Thursday with the parties’ standoff over the Chung Yoon-hoi scandal halting some procedures.

The main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy has been calling for the House Steering Committee to convene to question presidential staff over related issues. The NPAD also called for a special counsel investigation to be launched, saying that the prosecution’s probe was tainted.

Chung, a former aide of President Park Geun-hye, is rumored to have meddled in state affairs and engaged in a power struggle with Park Ji-man, the president’s brother. In the investigation to determine how Cheong Wa Dae documents containing related information were leaked to the media, the prosecution has tentatively concluded that all allegations are groundless. The prosecution also believes that police Superintendent Park Gwan-cheon compiled the documents with fabricated or unverified information, and that police inspectors Choi and Han provided the documents to the media.

It was alleged by Choi, before he committed suicide, that Cheong Wa Dae attempted to interfere in the investigation.

“The prosecution has already lost the trust of the public. The Saenuri Party’s call to wait for (the results of) the prosecution’s probe sounds empty,” NPAD floor leader Rep. Woo Yoon-keun said.

Woo also said that presidential Chief of Staff Kim Ki-choon and the three senior secretaries implicated in the scandal must be removed. He added that a parliamentary hearing and a meeting of the House Steering Committee must be held.

“A special counsel investigation cannot be avoided. Cheong Wa Dae’s abnormal (approach to) state affairs must be changed through a special counsel investigation,” he said.

The NPAD’s demands have been met with criticism from the ruling Saenuri Party, which has called the opposition lawmakers’ decision to call off meetings of some standing committees a “monopolization of the assembly.”

Saying that boycotting parliamentary procedures will in the end hurt the public, Saenuri Party floor leader Rep. Lee Wan-koo called on opposition lawmakers to resume their duties and said that political wrangling would cause “mutual destruction.”

Rep. Lee Jung-hyun went a step further, saying that the NPAD’s boycott was no better than a child’s tantrum and called on opposition lawmakers to resume parliamentary procedures before they were scolded.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)