Kim Tae-nyeon and Joo Ho-young's Dramatic Meeting at a Gangwon Temple... Persistent Disagreements in Negotiations over Assembly Organization

Kim Tae-nyeon "Efforts to Normalize the National Assembly" vs Joo Ho-young "No New Proposals"
Ruling Party Plans to Normalize the Assembly on the 26th... "Will Do Our Best to Negotiate Until the End"

Kim Tae-nyeon, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea (left), and Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the United Future Party, met on the 23rd at Hwaamsa Temple in Goseong, Gangwon Province. After having dinner at a nearby restaurant, they moved to a coffee shop and are seen having a warm and friendly conversation. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Lim Juhyung] Kim Tae-nyeon, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Joo Ho-young, the floor leader of the United Future Party, continued negotiations on the organization of the 21st National Assembly through a dramatic 'temple meeting' on the 23rd but failed to reach an agreement.

The Democratic Party plans to finalize the organization of the National Assembly and pass the third supplementary budget bill within this week regardless of whether the negotiations are settled, while the United Future Party is opposing, stating that if the Democratic Party does not give up the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, they will forfeit all 18 standing committee chair positions.

Kim and Joo held a sudden meeting that day. Their meeting was the first in eight days since Joo announced his resignation on the 15th and secluded himself while visiting temples nationwide.

After inquiring about Joo's whereabouts as he moved between various temples nationwide, Kim was able to meet him dramatically around 4:45 p.m. at Hwaamsa Temple in Goseong, Gangwon Province.

The meeting started at the temple and continued for over five hours, including an external dinner in the evening. After the meal, they moved to a coffee shop, took photos with their arms around each other, creating a warm atmosphere, and reportedly had an open discussion about normalizing the National Assembly.

However, they ultimately failed to reach an agreement on the core conflict over the distribution of standing committee chair positions, which is central to the organization negotiations.

Immediately after the meeting, Kim announced, "We have agreed to work towards normalizing the National Assembly," while Joo said, "(Kim) only pleaded for my return to the Assembly and made no new proposals."

This meeting is interpreted as being strongly influenced by Kim's determination to normalize the National Assembly to pass the third supplementary budget bill.

Some within the ruling party are voicing that they are willing to monopolize all 18 standing committee chair positions, and President Moon Jae-in also urged the prompt review of the supplementary budget bill at the Cabinet meeting that day, saying, "The longer the passage of the supplementary budget is delayed, the greater the suffering of the people will be."

Kim also effectively issued a 'final ultimatum' to the United Future Party.

At the morning floor strategy meeting, Kim said, "The United Future Party is requested one last time to submit the list of standing committee members by today and cooperate in normalizing the National Assembly," emphasizing, "Passing the third supplementary budget bill within June is the Assembly's top priority. We will immediately introduce the necessary procedures to complete the supplementary budget in the June session."

Kim Won-nae and Joo Won-nae having a conversation at a coffee shop. / Photo by Yonhap News

Meanwhile, on the 15th, with the United Future Party absent, the Democratic Party and other ruling coalition parties held a plenary session of the National Assembly and unilaterally elected six standing committee chairpersons, including the chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. Following this, Joo announced his resignation and secluded himself while visiting temples nationwide.

Since then, Joo has expressed his intention to return to the Assembly this week, but he still maintains the position that if the United Future Party, as the main opposition party, does not receive the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee taken by the Democratic Party, they will forfeit all 18 standing committee chair positions without further negotiations.

In a phone interview with 'Yonhap News' on the 23rd, Joo said, "Kim Jong-in, the emergency committee chairman of the United Future Party, has repeatedly requested my return, so I think I should return by this weekend," reaffirming his intention to return. However, regarding negotiations with the Democratic Party on standing committees, he said, "I don't want to comment. Let the Democratic Party do whatever they want."

While the two parties' positions remain at an impasse, the Democratic Party plans to complete the organization of the National Assembly and normalize it by the 26th.

Regarding this, Kim Young-jin, the senior deputy floor leader of the Democratic Party, said, "We will finalize the organization of the Assembly this Thursday and Friday, so all members have been asked to stay within an hour's distance from the Assembly," according to floor spokesperson Park Sung-jun.

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