Ruling and Opposition Floor Leaders Considering Ending Concurrent Terms at the End of April

Park Hong-geun "Taking Responsibility for Concluding the April Extraordinary Session"
Impact on Plans for Discussing Revisions Including Election Law Amendments

Joo Ho-young, the floor leader of the People Power Party, and Park Hong-geun, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, are seriously considering ending their terms together at the end of April.

On the 7th, Park met with reporters at the National Assembly and said, "It is not finalized yet, but when the new leadership takes office on that side (People Power Party), the two of us (Floor Leader Joo and Floor Leader Park) agreed that it would be better to take responsibility for and conclude the April extraordinary session," adding, "If the floor leader is elected between May 1 and 3, then the handover could naturally take place between May 2 and 4, which would be better for the operation of the National Assembly."

Floor Leader Joo's term ends on April 8, while Floor Leader Park's term is around May 10 (according to party rules, the second week of May). If a new floor leader is elected at the end of April, Joo's term would need to be extended by about three weeks, and Park's term would be shortened by about two weeks.

Park explained, "If Floor Leader Joo only serves the remaining term until April 8, he would be working against the fourth floor leader for about a month. Since that would not help the smooth operation of the National Assembly, the two of us discussed and agreed that it would be better to take responsibility for and conclude the April extraordinary session."

Floor Leader Joo also expressed a positive intention when asked by reporters at the National Assembly on the same day whether he was willing to resign together with Floor Leader Park, saying, "Yes."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

During their terms, the two have maintained weekly contact and communication, coordinating negotiations between the ruling and opposition parties. In particular, among floor leaders of both parties, it has been commonly acknowledged that they have maintained a close relationship and smooth communication. Since both have emphasized cooperation, the adjustment of their terms is also interpreted as a calculation that would benefit both parties.

Furthermore, behind the floor leaders' consideration of their terms, the issue of election law reform is also known to have played a certain role. Speaker Kim Jin-pyo has a plan to prepare a resolution and other documents at the Political Reform Special Committee by the 17th, and then hold a plenary committee meeting from the 27th to push forward election law reform. If the floor leadership of both parties is replaced during this process, it could inevitably disrupt the discussion on election law reform.

A Democratic Party official said, "Originally, there was talk of elections in early next month, but the burden of replacing the floor leadership of both parties during the election law reform process also influenced the term issue," adding, "I understand that the Speaker of the National Assembly persuaded them during this process."

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