'Gaemunbalcha' Ruling and Opposition Parties... Start Working on Livelihood Special Committee, Complete Organization on the 21st

Agreement on National Assembly Plenary Session Schedule, Negotiating Group Representative Speeches and Government Questions to Proceed
Special Committee on Livelihoods to Operate Until October... Discussions on Fuel Tax Reduction and More
Conflicts Persist Over Science and ICT Committee... Reaching Agreement Seems Difficult

Speaker of the National Assembly Kim Jin-pyo, Democratic Party floor leader Park Hong-geun, and People Power Party floor leader Kwon Seong-dong are announcing a bipartisan floor leaders' agreement on the National Assembly schedule in the Speaker's office on the 18th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy reporters Koo Chae-eun, Geum Bo-ryeong, Park Joon-i] The ruling and opposition parties, which have been at odds over the organization of the National Assembly, have tentatively agreed to form a ‘Special Committee on Stabilizing the People’s Livelihood Economy.’ They will hold negotiation group representative speeches on the 20th and 21st, and conduct interpellation sessions next week. After failing to organize the National Assembly by the original deadline of the 17th, they chose to quickly agree on special committees and parliamentary schedules excluding the organization itself, a move known as ‘Gaemunbalcha’ (starting the engine with the door open). Negotiations on the organization, including the highly contentious chairmanship of the Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting and Communications Committee, are to be finalized by the 21st.

On the 18th, Kwon Seong-dong, floor leader of the People Power Party, and Park Hong-geun, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, met at the National Assembly under the chairmanship of Speaker Kim Jin-pyo and signed an agreement to this effect. The ruling and opposition parties will process the resolution to form the ‘People’s Livelihood Special Committee’ at the plenary session on the 20th.

The agreed-upon People’s Livelihood Special Committee will consist of 13 members: six each from the People Power Party and the Democratic Party, and one from a non-negotiating party, with the chairperson to be held by the ruling party. The committee will primarily discuss urgent livelihood issues such as fuel tax, real estate, and the linkage system for delivery prices until October. Other economic issues agreed upon by the ruling and opposition party secretaries may also be brought to the discussion table.

Additionally, the ruling and opposition parties agreed to hold plenary sessions on the 20th and 21st for negotiation group representative speeches, followed by interpellation sessions on the 25th (politics, diplomacy, unification, security), 26th (economy), and 27th (education, society, culture).

The reason the ruling and opposition parties first agreed on other parliamentary schedules such as the People’s Livelihood Special Committee is interpreted as concern over delays in urgent livelihood legislation due to postponed organization negotiations. The Democratic Party has demanded that if the organization negotiations are prolonged, the People’s Livelihood Special Committee and the Personnel Hearing Special Committee be formed first. Floor leader Kwon mentioned a plan of ‘interpellation first, then committee chair elections’ during a conversation before the Constitution Day celebration the previous day, and floor leader Park also acknowledged the possibility, saying, “That is also a method.”

Speaker of the National Assembly Kim Jin-pyo, Democratic Party Floor Leader Park Hong-geun, and People Power Party Floor Leader Kwon Seong-dong are announcing a bipartisan agreement on the National Assembly schedule in the Speaker's office on the 18th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

However, even in the negotiations on this day, the ruling and opposition parties remained at odds over the Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting and Communications Committee and the Public Administration and Security Committee. The Democratic Party’s position is that since they have conceded the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee to the People Power Party, the Public Administration and Security Committee and the Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting and Communications Committee should be allocated to the opposition. The Public Administration and Security Committee is a contentious standing committee dealing with the establishment of the police bureau under the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, and the Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting and Communications Committee handles issues such as the restructuring of public broadcasting governance and the status of Chairman Han Sang-hyuk of the Korea Communications Commission, making it difficult for the ruling and opposition parties to reach an agreement.

Speaker Kim Jin-pyo proposed a mediation plan on the day to split the Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting and Communications Committee into two?Science and Technology Information, and Broadcasting and Communications?so that the ruling and opposition parties could each take one. However, floor leader Kwon rejected this ‘mediation plan.’ In a meeting with reporters after the Supreme Council meeting, he said, “How to organize the National Assembly’s standing committees is a matter for the National Assembly Steering Committee to comprehensively review in the future,” adding, “The issue of how to divide the ministries under the jurisdiction of the standing committees as a temporary patch to resolve the deadlock between the ruling and opposition parties is a stopgap measure, so it is difficult to accept it now.”

Democratic Party floor leader Park Hong-geun also said at the emergency committee meeting, “The ruling party, which blames the media for its recent sharp drop in approval ratings, is suddenly revealing its intention to control the media by insisting on reforming broadcasting,” and added, “They are obstructing the normalization of the National Assembly by insisting on the Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting and Communications Committee.” Park criticized, “As serious cracks are emerging in people’s daily lives due to the economic crisis, they must take unlimited responsibility for national governance.”

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