For example, the chiefs of staff from the Army, Navy and Air Force were summoned Monday to the judiciary committee’s inspection into the military tribunal. These top military commanders received one question each during the four-hour session. 

Similar scenes took place during the Trade Industry and Energy Committee. Among the eight governmental agencies that were brought to the stand Monday, only three of the agencies’ chiefs managed to receive questions from lawmakers. 

Some lawmakers became targets of public mockery for their questions. Rep. You Dae-woon of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy demanded the nation’s police chief “demonstrate” how to shoot a gun before lawmakers in his questioning about gun accidents.

During an audit for the Fair Trade Commission, the nation’s antitrust watchdog, Rep. Park Dae-dong of the Saenuri Party asked Lotte Chairman Shin Dong-bin whether he would root for the Korean team at a soccer match between Korea and Japan.

Critics attributed the debacle to lawmakers’ lack of expertise. “I don’t think the lawmakers are as knowledgeable about the state affairs as those working in the government. It is no secret that government officials laugh at the lawmakers’ questions behind the scenes,” said Lee Jung-hee, a political professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies

Meanwhile, rival parties were mired in partisanship and blamed each other for the “botched” audit session. The Saenuri Party criticized the NPAD for derailing the session by summoning too many witnesses, while the NPAD accused the Saenuri Party of hampering their efforts to secure witnesses that needed to take the stand. 

By Yeo Jun-suk  (jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)