Anchor: A four-term Democratic Party heavyweight has sparked public outrage by trading stocks during a parliamentary session in progress. Rep. Lee Choon-suak, chair of the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee, was caught red-handed when a news agency captured images of him using a phone to trade stocks under what appeared to be an account in someone else’s name. President Lee Jae Myung has ordered a thorough investigation. 
Kim Bum-soo has more.
 
Report: Democratic Party Rep. Lee Choon-suak was holding a mobile phone in his hand on Monday, trading stocks under his desk during an active parliamentary session, when a photographer captured images of the phone screen.

The images came out Tuesday in the Fact, a local media outlet, accompanied by allegations that the chair of the parliamentary Legislation and Judiciary Committee was using another person’s name to trade the stocks. 

Images showed that the account holder was one of the four-term lawmaker’s aides and the account balance stood at over one-hundred million won, or almost 72-thousand U.S. dollars.

Rep. Lee quit the party Tuesday night, six hours after party Chairman Jung Chung-rae ordered an investigation, and the party now plans to formally expel Lee.

Meanwhile, the judiciary committee has been left without a chair, and the People Power Party is demanding the role go to one of its lawmakers.  

But the ruling Democratic Party has already nominated six-term lawmaker Choo Mi-ae to head the committee.

The opposition party pointed out that Rep. Lee was in charge of AI policy on the Lee Jae Myung administration’s Presidential Committee on Policy Planning.

Noting that Rep. Lee traded stocks related to AI policy, the main opposition called for a thorough investigation.

President Lee ordered a fair and impartial investigation into the controversy, according to the top office on Wednesday. 
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.