"Take All Standing Committees" Ju Ho-young's Bold Return... The Dilemma of the Democratic Party

Judging Negotiations Yield Little Benefit... Strategy to Highlight Ruling Party's Responsibility
Democratic Party Faces Inevitable Strategy Revision from Hardline Approach

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Kim Hyemin and Kang Nahum] Amid escalating conflicts between the ruling and opposition parties over the organization of the 21st National Assembly, Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the Future United Party, who had expressed his intention to resign and gone into seclusion, will return to the National Assembly within this week.

However, it is being settled that he will return to the National Assembly without further negotiations with the ruling party, conceding all seven standing committee chairmanships allocated to the opposition party based on seat ratio to the ruling party. The Democratic Party of Korea doubts the sincerity of his remarks and is considering how to respond.

According to Future United Party officials on the 22nd, Floor Leader Joo will return to the National Assembly this week and resume party affairs. Over the weekend, Emergency Committee Chairman Kim Jong-in, Emergency Committee members Sung Il-jong, Park Hyung-soo, Ha Young-je, Lee Yong, Jung Hee-yong, and Kim Hyung-dong, five first-term lawmakers, visited the temple where Floor Leader Joo was staying to persuade him to return, which proved effective. The burden of the rapidly deteriorating inter-Korean relations immediately after his seclusion is also believed to have played a role.

However, the Future United Party has made it clear that even if Floor Leader Joo returns, there will be no negotiations unless the ruling party yields the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. They even claim that the ruling party should take all 18 standing committee chairmanships. If Speaker Park Byeong-seok cancels the forced assignment, they plan to enter the committees with the list formed by the Future United Party and fight.

The Future United Party's bold move to 'give up all 18 standing committee chairmanships' is interpreted as a judgment that the '11 to 7' distribution no longer holds meaning since the ruling party has already indicated operating the National Assembly based on power dynamics from the opening of the Assembly to the election of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee chair. With no way to overcome the numerical disadvantage, it appears to be a strategy to make the ruling party fully responsible and empowered for the operation of the National Assembly. In fact, within the party, the dominant opinion was, "Rather than ambiguously taking responsibility, let's clearly concentrate the authority and responsibility."

It also influenced the fact that it is nearly impossible for the ruling party to yield the Legislation and Judiciary Committee chairmanship, as Democratic Party lawmaker Yoon Ho-jung has already been elected to the position. They also know that even if they take some standing committee chairmanships, effectively checking the ruling party is impossible. According to the National Assembly Act, if at least one-quarter of the committee members request, the committee chair must hold a meeting, and if the chair refuses to convene or proceed with the meeting, another negotiation group secretary can act as the chair.

The decision to give up the chairmanships but send party members to the committees is interpreted as a strategy to avoid the responsibility of "the opposition party not working and obstructing." It also reflects the demands of first-term lawmakers within the party who "want to work" and the stance of pragmatists. Ultimately, they are likely to use a strategy of participating in the agenda mainly through committee secretaries to check the government and highlight the ruling party's responsibility. The floor deputy leaders of the Future United Party and the Democratic Party met that day but reached no significant conclusion. Kim Seong-won, floor deputy leader of the Future United Party, expressed a tough stance, saying, "Now is not the time for negotiation," and "It is a time for decision and choice."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Democratic Party, for now, does not seem to interpret Floor Leader Joo's remarks as a 'declaration of giving up standing committee chairmanships.' A key Democratic Party official said, "(The statement about giving up all 18 standing committees) is something Floor Leader Joo says to reporters, not to the Democratic Party, right?" This is interpreted as a pressure strategy by the Future United Party to gain an advantage in future negotiations.

However, some analyze that the Democratic Party, which had consistently maintained a hardline stance, will inevitably have to revise its negotiation strategy. The possibility of the ruling party monopolizing the standing committees if negotiations fail cannot be ruled out, which would increase the political responsibility and burden the party must bear.

Democratic Party floor leader Kim Tae-nyeon toned down his remarks toward the Future United Party on the same day. At the Supreme Council meeting, Floor Leader Kim said, "There are reports that the Future United Party will return to the National Assembly this week. The door to dialogue is always wide open," adding, "If we set our minds, countless clues can emerge within a day. We expect the Future United Party's swift decision."

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