Joo Ho-young: "Democratic Party to Unilaterally Operate National Assembly... Will Not Give Up Opposition Role" (Comprehensive)

Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the United Future Party, is leaving the Speaker's office after a meeting with the Speaker and floor leaders of negotiation groups for the organization of the 21st National Assembly on the 29th at the National Assembly. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporters Lee Ji-eun and Lim Chun-han] Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the United Future Party, expressed his intention not to take on the remaining seven standing committee chairmanships allocated based on the number of seats. He also emphasized that although the ruling party will unilaterally operate the National Assembly going forward, the opposition will not give up its role.

On the morning of the 29th, Floor Leader Joo said at the National Assembly floor leader’s office, "We proposed alternating the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee for the latter two years, but even that was not accepted by the Democratic Party of Korea."

Accordingly, the United Future Party decided to hand over all standing committee chairmanships to the Democratic Party. He explained, "During the negotiations for the opening of the 21st National Assembly, the Democratic Party broke long-standing customs and traditions by unilaterally taking the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. In this situation, we concluded that taking on the seven standing committee chairmanships proposed by the Democratic Party would not be very meaningful in terms of checks and balances."

Floor Leader Joo explained, "Our party’s inability to secure the Legislation and Judiciary Committee chairmanship, and even the failure to share it, means that the Democratic Party is rejecting coexistence and cooperation and intends to operate the National Assembly unilaterally. Taking on the chairmanships would only cause accusations of being a mere figurehead or obstructionist."

The United Future Party held a party meeting at 1:30 p.m. that day to gather opinions from its members. Floor Leader Joo said, "The future process in the National Assembly will be decided through the party meeting, but we will not give up our role as opposition lawmakers. We will actively participate in National Assembly activities and intensify our efforts to check and criticize." He added, "Although the Democratic Party is expected to proceed unilaterally from today, we hope they will consult with the United Future Party, the negotiating group, during the process. We will never accept unilateral proceedings thereafter."

It is known that although the Democratic Party and the United Future Party even drafted a joint agreement, they failed to narrow their differences over the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. Floor Leader Joo explained, "We discussed to the maximum extent possible, assuming various scenarios to find common ground. There was no draft agreement; rather, we confirmed the maximum concessions each side could make."

Floor Leader Joo revealed that he proposed dividing the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee between the ruling and opposition parties for the first and second halves of the term, but the Democratic Party rejected it. Although National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seok proposed that the ruling party, victorious in the presidential election, take the chairmanship in the latter half, the United Future Party rejected this. Floor Leader Joo stated, "The formation of the 21st National Assembly should be decided at the opening based on the situation in the National Assembly, not based on the outcome of the presidential election, as that undermines the independence of the National Assembly."

Floor Leader Joo said, "Since yesterday, after consulting many lawmakers by phone, most have taken a hardline stance. We have gathered opinions from many within the party."

Meanwhile, Speaker Park planned to hold a plenary session at 7 p.m. that day and requested the United Future Party to submit the list of standing committee members by 6 p.m., but the United Future Party refused to submit it, so the plenary session was rescheduled to 2 p.m.

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