Sung Iljong: "Parliamentary Dictatorship Has Already Begun... Ruling Party Aims to Eliminate Opposition's CIH Chief Veto Power"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy, reporter Kim Hyemin] On June 16, Sung Iljong, a member of the emergency committee of the United Future Party, criticized the ruling party for unilaterally electing standing committee chairs, stating, "Parliamentary dictatorship has already begun."

That morning, during an appearance on MBC Radio's "Kim Jongbae's Focus," Sung said, "For the first time in the 72-year history of the National Assembly, the ruling party forcibly allocated standing committees and took over the Legislation and Judiciary Committee without any consultation."

He continued, "Since the 17th National Assembly, the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee has been the only means for the opposition to check the ruling party. Yielding this position was a signal of cooperative governance, so it is truly regrettable." Sung added, "In this case, the ruling party seems to be trying to persuade the public that it was urgent due to the supplementary budget bill, but if they had yielded the Legislation and Judiciary Committee as per precedent, we had even declared that we would take the lead on passing the supplementary budget."

He also declared, "All negotiations with the ruling party are now completely suspended," and criticized the ruling party's proposal to split the committees 11 to 7, saying, "They are offering us the shell while keeping the substance for themselves, and pretending this is consideration for the opposition is even more despicable."

Sung predicted that the ruling party would try to use its control over the Legislation and Judiciary Committee to eliminate the opposition's veto power over the appointment of the head of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIH). He said, "Will the veto power be maintained? They will try to change the law. The ruling party could not give up the Legislation and Judiciary Committee because they wanted to quickly pass laws they need, including the CIH, and now they will freely change things as they wish."

He added, "The Legislation and Judiciary Committee controls the courts and the prosecution," and criticized, "In many ways, we have entered a very dangerous crossroads leading to dictatorship."

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