Park Byeong-seok, Speaker of the National Assembly: "Fandom Politics Deepens Ideological Divides... Launch of Direct National Unity Committee"

Proposal to Hold Next Year's March Presidential Election and June Local Elections Together

Park Byeong-seok, Speaker of the National Assembly / Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] Park Byeong-seok, Speaker of the National Assembly, announced on the 31st that he will launch the National Integration Committee as a direct affiliate next week to ease public conflicts.

On the morning of the same day, Speaker Park appeared on KBS 1TV's Sunday Diagnosis Live and said, "The ideological divide and factional divide in national integration are too deep," adding, "I believe conflicts are continuously amplified because politics only focuses on their own support base."

He stated, "To alleviate this, the National Integration Committee will be established as a direct affiliate of the Speaker," emphasizing, "Ultimately, constitutional amendment and the completion of the system through the decentralization of power are necessary."

He also said, "At the very least, politics should include moderate groups; being too absorbed in so-called fandom politics is likely inconsistent with looking at the entire nation."

Former Speakers Lim Chae-jung and Kim Young-ho will be appointed as co-chairs of the National Integration Committee, which will be established next week. The committee will be divided into political, economic, and social decentralization sectors.

Speaker Park also expressed the view that constitutional revision is essential. He pointed out, "We are still using the constitution revised in 1987," adding, "It does not reflect the diversity of society." He further added, "I believe horizontal decentralization between the president and the National Assembly and vertical decentralization between the central and local governments should go hand in hand."

He also proposed holding the presidential election scheduled for March 9 next year and the local elections scheduled for June 1 simultaneously. Speaker Park said, "Holding two nationwide elections within less than three months is a severe drain on national resources," adding, "It can directly save more than 150 billion won in election costs." He explained, "The president would be elected on March 9 and inaugurated on May 9, and local government heads would be elected on March 9 and inaugurated on July 1."

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