Ruling and Opposition Parties' Private Meeting Also Ends Empty-Handed... Unable to Narrow Differences on Special Criminal Act Committee Positions

Song Eon-seok, the Senior Deputy Floor Leader of the People Power Party, is delivering opening remarks at the floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly on the 14th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] The ruling and opposition parties negotiated on the 10th to finalize the allocation of standing committees and the organization of the National Assembly, but ended without any significant progress.

At a closed-door meeting held at the National Assembly that day, Song Eon-seok and Jin Sung-jun, the senior deputy floor leaders of the People Power Party and the Democratic Party respectively, faced each other. Song, the senior deputy floor leader, told reporters, "(The discussion on the organization) is not progressing," adding, "(The Democratic Party) is making nonsense claims that the organization is stalled due to the internal situation of the People Power Party."

Earlier, Woo Sang-ho, the Democratic Party's emergency committee chairman, held a press conference suggesting that the organization negotiations were delayed due to internal conflicts within the People Power Party. Song said, "The reason it hasn't been organized so far is because (the Democratic Party) kept insisting on the Special Committee on Criminal Investigation, which has prevented progress."

People Power Party's Song Eon-seok, Senior Deputy Floor Leader (left), and Democratic Party's Jin Sung-jun, Senior Deputy Floor Leader, shake hands on the morning of the 8th at the National Assembly Steering Committee Chairman's Office in Yeouido, Seoul, to begin negotiations for the second half of the National Assembly's organization.

Lee Su-jin, the Democratic Party's floor spokesperson, also said, "Even during this closed-door meeting, differences were not narrowed, so negotiations did not proceed properly." She did not mention specific causes or backgrounds.

However, she added, "I cannot say whether there were any changes in positions during today's negotiations since it was not disclosed, but the issues regarding the composition of the Special Committee on Criminal Investigation and the allocation of chairpersons are already mentioned in the agreement. It is not desirable to overturn that now."

The ruling and opposition parties have failed to narrow their differences over the allocation of standing committees, including the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, and negotiations have seen no progress for a week. The formation of the Special Committee on Criminal Investigation, demanded by the Democratic Party, and the adjustment of functions of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the Budget and Accounts Committee are also considered major points of contention.

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