Main opposition Democratic Party lawmakers on the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee have pushed through an order requiring first lady Kim Keon-hee and her mother, Choi Eun-soon, to appear as witnesses at a parliamentary audit.

Neither Kim nor her mother complied with the committee’s summons to appear at Monday’s audit session.

Lawmakers from the ruling People Power Party(PPP) accused the opposition party of trying to humiliate the first lady and her mother, but despite its protests the order won support from eleven of the 17 lawmakers in attendance.

Jung Chung-rae, the committee chair affiliated with the main opposition party, said it was necessary to issue the order as the two women are important witnesses and it is unclear why they were absent.

The opposition unilaterally included the first lady and her mother as witnesses for the audit of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, as Kim is alleged to have illegally accepted a luxury bag, abetted stock manipulation, and meddled in the candidate nomination process before the April election.

Following the committee session, National Assembly staff headed to the presidential residence in Hannam-dong, Seoul, to deliver the order with three Democratic Party lawmakers in attendance.