Is Honey Dripping?...The Battle for Chairmanship Among Gold Badge Holders in Standing Committees

Delays in Standing Committee Chair Allocation Every Time
Overall Jurisdiction, Authority to Submit Bills and Conduct Meetings
Priority Given to Seniority and Age... 'Primary Elections' Held in the 18th National Assembly

Jeong Cheong-rae, a senior member of the Democratic Party of Korea who was expected to take the position of Chairperson of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee, recently gave up the chairmanship amid controversy over holding multiple positions simultaneously. Jeong, who had argued that "if Jeong Cheong-rae steps down, the next targets will be Representative Lee Jae-myung and the party leadership," invoking the saying 'Sunmangchihan' (meaning "without lips, the teeth feel cold"), stepped down after saying "Serve the party before oneself." The Democratic Party has newly established criteria for selecting standing committee chairpersons as part of a 'letting go of vested interests' initiative. What kind of position is a standing committee chairperson that the party emphasizes distribution rather than monopolization?

The formation of the second half of the 21st National Assembly has been stalled due to sluggish negotiations between the ruling and opposition parties, resulting in a parliamentary vacuum lasting for four weeks. On the 26th, the image of the National Assembly trapped inside a structure seemed to symbolize the current situation. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

◆Standing Committee Chairperson 'Seat Battle'

According to political circles on the 14th, the distribution of standing committee chairperson positions has always been the biggest hurdle whenever the ruling and opposition parties negotiate the formation of the National Assembly. This is because fierce power struggles break out to secure more and better standing committees.

According to an analysis by the National Assembly Research Service, it took an average of 41.4 days to form the original organization from the 13th to the 20th National Assembly. In the 21st National Assembly, the competition over standing committee distribution also caused delays. Ultimately, the Democratic Party, which became the majority party, took all 18 standing committees, and in the latter half of the term, the Science, Technology, Broadcasting and Communications Committee and the Public Administration and Security Committee were held in parallel by the Democratic Party and the People Power Party until May 29, 2023, after which they agreed to alternate. Because of this, the formation period far exceeded the average of 35.3 days for the latter half and was completed in 54 days.

As such, the distribution of standing committee chairperson positions and the appointment of committee members are the most contentious parts of the National Assembly's formation and are cited as major causes of delays. However, there are no specific provisions in the National Assembly Act or related regulations regarding the distribution of standing committee chairperson positions, so it has been determined based on customs. Just as matters related to the operation of the National Assembly are decided through negotiations between parliamentary negotiation groups, the distribution of standing committee chairperson positions has also depended on negotiations between the ruling and opposition parties. However, regarding the election of standing committee chairpersons, it is only stipulated that "the chairperson shall be elected by the members of the relevant standing committee at a plenary session" (National Assembly Act, Article 41, Paragraph 2).

Kwon Seong-dong, Acting Leader of the People Power Party, and Park Hong-geun, Floor Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, exchanged the agreement on the organization of the second half of the 21st National Assembly during a meeting of floor leaders presided over by the Speaker of the National Assembly in the Speaker's office on the 22nd. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

◆'The Flower of a National Assembly Member'... What Are the Powers?

The reason why competition between the ruling and opposition parties over standing committee chairperson positions is fierce is because it is the most essential power resource of the National Assembly. Standing committees carry out the National Assembly's main functions of legislation and oversight of the executive branch, and the chairperson oversees the committee's jurisdictional duties. Since each committee oversees specific government ministries, the 18 standing committee chairpersons are often called the 'flower of National Assembly members.' The chairperson holds the authority to propose bills as well as to conduct meetings. Especially, the position as head of a committee closely related to regional budget allocation is considered advantageous for managing electoral districts.

In particular, the Chairperson of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee is called the 'kingmaker.' This is because bills reviewed by the relevant standing committee must undergo systematic and legal scrutiny by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee before being submitted to the plenary session.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In 2021, the scope of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee's systematic and legal scrutiny was explicitly defined through an amendment to the National Assembly Act, reducing its powers, but the chairperson still has the potential to re-examine or delay the processing of contentious bills from scratch. Earlier this year, regarding the contentious amendment to the Grain Management Act, although the Democratic Party directly submitted the bill to the plenary session, Kim Do-eup, chairperson of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee from the People Power Party, prevented the bill's forced passage by sending it back to the bill review subcommittee, escalating conflicts between the ruling and opposition parties.

◆Demand to Change the Standing Committee Chairperson Positions Traditionally Decided by 'Custom'

As disputes over the distribution and election of standing committee chairpersons continue, calls for reducing their powers have been growing. Some have even argued for the complete abolition of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee's systematic and legal scrutiny.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the Legislative Information System, a bill to abolish the Legislation and Judiciary Committee's systematic and legal scrutiny authority (deleting Article 86) has been proposed, but after the reduction of powers, no further discussions have taken place.

Fierce competition over the powerful standing committee chairperson positions occurs not only between parties but also within parties. Once each party determines how many chairperson positions it will secure, the party leadership decides who will take the positions. Usually, it is customary for party leadership to nominate candidates. However, in the 18th National Assembly, the Grand National Party broke this custom by holding a primary election to select standing committee chairpersons. The background to this primary was the emergence of internal conflicts among party members over the chairperson positions and a growing sentiment against unilateral nominations by the leadership.

Recently, voices within the Democratic Party have called to "break the custom" and "give up privileges" regarding standing committee chairperson positions. The Democratic Party has traditionally nominated candidates internally and then finalized appointments through a vote at the plenary session. The nomination criteria considered election experience (seniority), age, expertise, and regional characteristics. Conventionally, the Democratic Party excluded those who had held major party positions or ministerial-level political posts, but during the latter half of the term's formation, when the Science, Technology, Broadcasting and Communications Committee and the Public Administration and Security Committee were to be alternately held by the ruling and opposition parties for one year each, a problem arose in the Democratic Party's allocation of the Public Administration and Security Committee. According to the formation agreement, Representative Jeong Cheong-rae, who was chairperson of the Science, Technology, Broadcasting and Communications Committee, was supposed to take the Public Administration and Security Committee chairmanship this time, but since he was also serving as a senior party member, there were criticisms that holding both positions would be a 'monopoly.'

Ultimately, on the 12th, the Democratic Party held a party meeting and newly established criteria for selecting standing committee chairpersons. The main point was to exclude those who had held ministerial-level political posts, including current and former party leadership. Party spokesperson Lee So-young explained the new criteria, saying, "If one person holds two major powers simultaneously, they may not be able to devote themselves fully to one role. This is about distribution and balance." She added, "Going forward, we discussed placing chairpersons by comprehensively considering seniority, age, regional characteristics, and expertise."

However, there are still regrets about the priority given to election experience and age in the allocation of standing committee chairperson positions. A Democratic Party official said, "While the newly established selection criteria are positive, it is still unfortunate that first-term members find it difficult to become chairpersons because they are overshadowed by seniority rather than expertise."

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