Deadlock in the National Assembly on the 11th Day Due to Ruling and Opposition Clash... Who Will Raise the Calf?

Conflict Between Ruling and Opposition Parties Continues Over Second Half National Assembly Organization Including Legislation Committee Chair
Concerns Over First Ever 'Hearing Passing' of National Tax Service Chief Amid 4 Unapproved Hearing Reports
Economic and Security Crises Escalate... Negotiation Prospects Unclear

People Power Party's Song Eon-seok, Chief Deputy Floor Leader (left), and Democratic Party's Jin Sung-jun, Chief Deputy Floor Leader, shake hands on the 8th in the National Assembly Steering Committee Chairman's office to begin negotiations for the second half of the National Assembly's organization. Photo by Ha Sa-heon [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Yunjin Kim] It has been 11 days since the second half of the 21st National Assembly began, but the Assembly remains at a standstill. This is due to the ruling and opposition parties failing to narrow their differences over the reorganization of the Assembly in the second half. As the reorganization is delayed, discussions on national issues, including confirmation hearings, are indefinitely stalled.

The biggest point of contention between the ruling and opposition parties is who will take the chairmanship of the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee (Law and Judiciary Committee).

The People Power Party insists that, as agreed by both parties in July last year, the People Power Party should take the chairmanship of the Law and Judiciary Committee in the second half. However, the Democratic Party of Korea argues that since the ruling and opposition have switched, discussions should start anew, and the chairmanship should belong to the opposition party. As the parliamentary vacuum lengthens, the Democratic Party proposed electing the Speaker of the National Assembly first and then resuming negotiations on standing committees, but the People Power Party countered, saying it was an attempt to monopolize the Speaker and the Law and Judiciary Committee sequentially.

The holding of confirmation hearings for ministerial and other candidates is also uncertain. This is because there is neither a standing committee to conduct the hearings nor a Speaker’s panel to form a special confirmation committee. So far, four confirmation requests have been submitted to the Assembly: for Park Soon-ae, candidate for Minister of Education; Kim Seung-hee, candidate for Minister of Health and Welfare; Kim Seung-gyeom, candidate for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Kim Chang-gi, candidate for Commissioner of the National Tax Service. If the confirmation request for Kim Joo-hyun, nominated as Chairman of the Financial Services Commission on the 7th, is submitted, one more case will be added.

As confirmation hearings are delayed, there are concerns that candidates may be appointed without proper vetting. Candidates Park Soon-ae and Kim Seung-hee face allegations of drunk driving and duplicate publication of papers, and 'gap investment' and violations of the Political Funds Act, respectively. On the 9th, Democratic Party floor leader Park Hong-geun said at a policy coordination meeting, "There can never be ministerial appointments without public scrutiny," but the schedule for the plenary session to elect the Speaker has yet to be decided. The submission deadlines for the confirmation requests for the two candidates are the 18th and 19th of this month, respectively.

For Kim Chang-gi, whose confirmation hearing deadline has already passed, the possibility of appointment without a hearing is even greater. On the 8th, President Yoon Seok-yeol requested the National Assembly to resend the confirmation hearing report on Kim Chang-gi. If the Assembly does not send the report by the 10th, President Yoon will be able to appoint the candidate directly. In response, members of the Democratic Party’s Planning and Finance Committee held a press conference on the 9th, criticizing, "Requesting the resubmission of the report during the parliamentary vacuum was an intention not to hold a hearing from the start."

As the parliamentary deadlock prolongs, demands for the review and approval of piled-up bills have also erupted. The Cargo Solidarity of the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers' Union (KPTU) went on a general strike from the 7th, demanding the extension and expansion of the Safe Freight Rate System. The Cargo Solidarity pointed out the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s negligence, citing that the amendment to the Freight Truck Transportation Business Act has been pending in the Assembly for over a year. However, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said at a press briefing on the 8th, "Since it is a legal amendment matter, it needs to be discussed and decided in the Assembly," shifting responsibility to the Assembly, which has delayed reorganization.

Discussions on domestic and international issues directly related to people’s livelihoods are also urgent. Due to global stagflation (economic stagnation with rising prices), the domestic economy faces the 'three highs' of high inflation, high interest rates, and high exchange rates. President Yoon has also described the situation as "entering the typhoon zone, including an economic crisis."

Moreover, as the U.S. State Department and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have successively predicted that North Korea’s 7th nuclear test is imminent, the security crisis is becoming more visible. At the national security review meeting held at the Assembly on the 8th, Han Ki-ho, Secretary-General of the People Power Party, said, "Normally, the National Defense Committee of the Assembly should be convened in response to North Korea’s provocations, but we held a party-government meeting due to unavoidable circumstances," urging the normalization of the Assembly to respond to the crisis.

However, negotiations on the reorganization between the ruling and opposition parties remain in the fog. The chief deputy floor leaders of both parties met at the Assembly on the 8th to discuss the reorganization of the second half of the 21st National Assembly but failed to reach an agreement. On the 10th, People Power Party floor leader Kwon Seong-dong appeared on KBS Radio’s 'Choi Kyung-young’s Strong Current Affairs' and said, "I apologize for causing concern to the public by failing to conclude the reorganization negotiations," but maintained his position, saying, "If the Democratic Party keeps its promise to return the chairmanship of the Law and Judiciary Committee, the reorganization will proceed smoothly."

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