Ruling and Opposition Parties Unite Amid Security Crisis... Power Struggle Over Assembly Formation Continues

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jin-young] To respond to the security crisis related to North Korean provocations, ruling and opposition party lawmakers held a joint meeting on the 24th to discuss current issues. Amid the deadlock in the formation of committees, this was the first time since the opening of the 21st National Assembly that both parties came together to discuss.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Members of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea and members of the Future United Party's Security Special Committee held a 'Ruling and Opposition Lawmakers' Meeting on Foreign Affairs and Security' at the National Assembly Members' Office Building in the afternoon to discuss security issues.

Song Young-gil, a Democratic Party lawmaker and chair of the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, said at the meeting, "We need to work together with enthusiasm, but it is regrettable that the formation of committees is delayed. I believe that meeting informally like this to have candid discussions is what the public wants to see."

Park Jin, chair of the Future United Party's Foreign Affairs and Security Special Committee, also said, "It was unfortunate that the standing committee could not function fundamentally amid the rising inter-Korean security issues. I suggested gathering lawmakers with expertise in foreign affairs and security to share ideas and wisdom, and I appreciate the positive response."

Park added, "If you look closely, I think there are many areas where the ruling and opposition parties share the same views, such as the fact that peace on the Korean Peninsula cannot exist without North Korea's denuclearization, and that it is preferable to resolve inter-Korean issues through dialogue rather than provocations or threats from North Korea." He also emphasized, "Foreign affairs and security issues between the ruling and opposition parties must be handled in a truly bipartisan manner, prioritizing national interests."

After the closed-door meeting, Song told reporters, "At least the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee should be normalized so that both ruling and opposition parties can listen to government ministry reports together and prepare countermeasures." Park also stated, "We will continue bipartisan dialogue going forward."

At the beginning of the meeting, there was also a tense exchange regarding the formation of committees. Park said, "I hoped the Democratic Party would not push the committee formation unilaterally, but it is regrettable."

Lawmaker Cho Su-jin of the Future United Party responded to Song's question, "Where were you assigned in the standing committees?" by saying, "(The Speaker of the National Assembly) forcibly assigned us, so who would have gotten what they wanted?" She then retorted toward Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Sang-min, "Didn’t you take the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee as the opposition's share, senior?"

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