Deadlock Again in Ruling and Opposition Parties' Agreement... Korean Party Says "Wuhan" Must Be Included in Special Committee Name, "Novel Coronavirus" Is Humiliating

At Meeting Between Ruling and Opposition Senior Deputy Representatives, No Agreement Reached on February Extraordinary Session Schedule and New Coronavirus Special Committee
To Be Discussed Again at Party Floor Leaders' Meeting Early Next Week

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] The ruling and opposition parties failed to narrow their differences over the name, once again failing to agree on the launch of the Special Committee on Novel Coronavirus and the schedule for the February extraordinary session of the National Assembly. The Liberty Korea Party insisted that 'Wuhan' be included in the committee's name, while the Democratic Party of Korea argued that the name should be set as 'Novel Coronavirus' in accordance with World Health Organization (WHO) norms.

Yoon Hoo-duk, the Democratic Party's senior deputy floor leader, said at a briefing after the senior deputy floor leaders' meeting held at the National Assembly on the afternoon of the 6th, "We agreed to hold a floor leaders' meeting early next week to discuss the Special Committee on Novel Coronavirus and the schedule for the February extraordinary session." Kim Han-pyo, the Liberty Korea Party's senior deputy floor leader, said, "We agreed on the number of committee members," adding, "The Democratic Party will have 9 members, the Liberty Korea Party 8 members, and one member from the non-negotiating group."

Although the ruling and opposition parties met for about an hour and 30 minutes again on the same day as the previous day, they effectively reached no conclusion.

Regarding the reason for failing to reach a conclusion at the meeting, Senior Deputy Floor Leader Kim said, "Our party insisted on including the place name 'Wuhan,'" adding, "A compromise is needed on this."

Kim explained the reason for including the name Wuhan, saying, "Many people are dying from pneumonia symptoms that originated in Wuhan, and there are various economic losses," and added, "China should take international and global responsibility, and it is time to acknowledge that." He further criticized, saying, "Lumping it all together as 'Novel Coronavirus' is humiliating," and "Considering the behavior of the Chinese Ambassador to Korea on the day before his appointment on Korean soil, it is outrageous to disregard the Republic of Korea."

In response, Senior Deputy Floor Leader Yoon countered, "The World Health Organization (WHO) established norms after the 2015 MERS outbreak to avoid including geographic locations or people's names, and the government named it 'Novel Coronavirus' accordingly." He added, "I apologize for not reaching an agreement, as we need to open the February extraordinary session quickly to handle livelihood bills and activate the special committee to listen to and encourage the government's response and measures against the Novel Coronavirus."

Meanwhile, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of confirmed cases of the Novel Coronavirus increased to 23 as of the morning of the day.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.