Joo Ho-young: "Take All 18 Committee Chair Positions... Returning to the National Assembly This Week" (Comprehensive)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Saeng-hye] On the 21st, Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the United Future Party, stated, "Let the Democratic Party of Korea take all 18 standing committee chairmanships," adding, "We will enter the standing committees and fight."

Joo said that the day before, Emergency Committee Chairman Kim Jong-in and five first-term lawmakers visited him to persuade him to return. In particular, Kim reportedly said at the meeting, "Do not negotiate over the standing committee chairmanships; let the Democratic Party take them all, but even so, our standing committee members should perform their roles properly."

It is known that Chairman Kim and Floor Leader Joo shared the view that if the Judiciary Committee Chairmanship, a parliamentary power check mechanism, is not secured by the opposition party, there is no need to hold the other standing committee chairmanships. They believe it is better, like in the United States, to take all standing committee chairmanships and bear full responsibility for state affairs rather than becoming a mere follower of the ruling party.

Joo also conveyed that first-term lawmakers expressed, "We cannot forgive the outrageous acts by the Democratic Party or Speaker Park Byeong-seok, but we should engage in politics with integrity toward the people," and "In a situation where the Democratic Party or President Moon Jae-in is creating crises and performing poorly, we should not quarrel over standing committee chairmanships but properly fulfill the opposition's role." He added, "Once we enter the standing committees, it will not end with just expressing opinions," and declared, "We will fight with all our might."

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