Ruling and Opposition Parties Agree to Discuss Standing Committee Quotas First... Deadline Set for the 10th

Speaker Park Byeong-seok Accepts Opposition Proposal
Standing Committee Formation Temporarily Postponed... Meeting Again in Afternoon to Discuss Member List and Chair Distribution

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Kim Hye-min and Jeon Jin-young] The ruling and opposition parties, which had been at an impasse over the formation of the 21st National Assembly, agreed on the 8th to first discuss the issue of the number of members from each party in the standing committees. This effectively bought more time for further negotiations on the key issue of the distribution of standing committee chairmanships.

Kim Tae-nyeon of the Democratic Party and Joo Ho-young of the United Future Party, the floor leaders, met on the afternoon of the 8th under the chairmanship of National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seok and reached this agreement. Earlier, Floor Leader Joo had proposed forming a special committee to first finalize the number of members in the standing committees. This agreement was reached as Speaker Park accepted Floor Leader Joo’s proposal.

Han Min-su, the National Assembly’s chief public relations officer, explained in a briefing immediately after the meeting, "The special committee proposed by the United Future Party has been agreed upon. The Speaker accepted it, and the Democratic Party also accepted it." He added, "The special committee will be composed of 11 members: 6 from the Democratic Party, 4 from the United Future Party, and 1 from a non-negotiating party." The member from the non-negotiating party will be recommended by the Speaker of the National Assembly.

Fearing that discussions might be delayed by holding the special committee hostage, both parties agreed to convene a plenary session at 2 p.m. on the 10th to process the "Rules Amendment Bill on the Number of Standing Committee Members."

With the ruling and opposition parties agreeing to first finalize the number of standing committee members, only the special committee formation plan is expected to be processed at the plenary session scheduled for that day. Until the morning, the Democratic Party had hinted at the possibility of electing standing committee chairpersons through a vote but left room for one more round of negotiations.

The floor leaders of both parties plan to meet once more in the afternoon to discuss the list of standing committee members and the distribution of standing committee chairmanships. Han said, "There was no specific discussion about which chairperson (each party would take), and they are currently discussing by when to finalize the matter." He added, "The Speaker also said that if a final agreement is not reached, he will have no choice but to make a decision," and "He mentioned a deadline he has in mind," urging a prompt agreement.

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