<기사>Gijaewi, Unyoungwi, and Gukbangwi Committees May Shift to People Power Party... Ruling Party Says "As Usual," Opposition Says "Negotiation Needed"

Agreement Reached on National Assembly Organization
But Distribution of Standing Committee Chairs Remains a Minefield

Kwon Seong-dong, floor leader of the People Power Party, is attending the party floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly on the 5th and delivering opening remarks. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Park Hong-geun, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the party strategy meeting held at the National Assembly on the 5th and delivering opening remarks. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy reporters Koo Chae-eun and Geum Bo-ryeong] The ruling and opposition parties are expected to clash sharply over the future distribution of standing committee chairmanships. The opposition insists that negotiation and coordination are necessary regarding the standing committees (such as the Strategy and Finance Committee, the Steering Committee, and the Defense Committee) traditionally held by the ruling party, leading to a tug-of-war between the ruling party, which claims 'precedent,' and the opposition, which calls for 'negotiation.'

Although there is no explicit regulation on 'ruling party standing committees,' it has been customary for the ruling party to hold chairmanships of the Steering Committee, the Strategy and Finance Committee, the Defense Committee, the Intelligence Committee, and the Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Communications Committee. During the 20th National Assembly, when the Democratic Party became the ruling party in 2017, it took the 'ruling party standing committees' such as the Steering Committee, Strategy and Finance Committee, and Defense Committee in the second half of 2018, while ceding the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, Environment and Labor Committee, and Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs and Oceans Committee to the Liberty Korea Party.

On the 5th, Kwon Seong-dong, floor leader of the People Power Party, said in a back briefing after the floor strategy meeting, “There are standing committees that the ruling party held in the past,” adding, “With the change of government, traditions and customs have been established. I think each party can take charge of the standing committee chairmanships accordingly.”

On the other hand, the Democratic Party also insists that negotiation is necessary. Lee Soo-jin, the Democratic Party floor spokesperson, said in a back briefing after the floor strategy meeting on the same day, in response to a question about whether they would concede the Strategy and Finance Committee, Steering Committee, and Defense Committee traditionally held by the ruling party, “That part also needs to be decided through negotiation, so no decision has been made to hand over any specific standing committee.” The floor spokesperson added, “It seems the ruling party has various ambitions regarding the standing committees, but nothing special has progressed yet.”

Meanwhile, at the floor strategy meeting held that day, Floor Leader Kwon said, “To resolve urgent livelihood issues, the standing committee chairpersons must be elected as soon as possible, even if just one day earlier.” He added, “Since the Speaker of the National Assembly is from the first negotiation group, the Democratic Party, the Chairperson of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee should be from the second negotiation group, the People Power Party,” and “The standing committees should be distributed 11 to 7 as agreed last July.”

Democratic Party Floor Leader Park Hong-geun said, “We elected the Speaker with the single-minded determination that the legislative vacuum amid the livelihood and economic crisis must not continue any longer, and this is the result of the Democratic Party’s magnanimous concession and patience,” adding, “Although the National Assembly opened after 36 days, there are still hurdles such as the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the Budget and Accounts Committee. We must restore the broken trust between the ruling and opposition parties through promise after promise and agreement after agreement.”

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