'Electoral District Delimitation' Special Committee Full Meeting Canceled... Democratic Party Blames Ruling Party

One Day Before the Plenary Session, Final Meeting Between Ruling and Opposition Parties Falls Through
Democratic Party: "If No Agreement by 29th, Election Schedule Will Be Disrupted"
"Urging Negotiations for Resolution Through Bipartisan Agreement"

Members of the Democratic Party on the National Assembly's Special Committee on Political Reform (Jeonggae Special Committee) blamed the People Power Party for the failure of the committee meeting on the 28th. Democratic Party officials on the committee criticized, "We strongly regret that the People Power Party is acting as if the Democratic Party broke off negotiations, even though they themselves broke their promises."

Kim Young-bae, the Democratic Party secretary of the Jeonggae Special Committee, told reporters at the National Assembly main building in the afternoon, "The People Power Party is using double standards," adding, "When the Democratic Party demanded reducing seats in Gangnam and Busan, they argued it was unfair because the Electoral District Delimitation Commission had reasonably decided based on population standards. But when negotiations failed and the Democratic Party proposed passing the original plan, they suddenly claimed that a 'dinosaur electoral district' would be created based on area standards, not population." He continued, "It is a clear double standard to say that the commission's plan is wrong for electoral districts involving their own interests, while claiming that the Democratic Party's arguments were reasonably decided by the commission."

Kim Young-bae, Opposition Party Secretary of the Special Committee on Political Reform
[Photo by Yonhap News]

He said, "Yoon Jae-ok, the floor leader of the People Power Party, first accepted an agreement to reduce seats in Busan while preserving some electoral districts through special provisions," and added, "Then they reversed their position as if the Democratic Party had made unreasonable demands." He also said, "If they are not going to reduce seats in Busan, the two parties' floor leaders effectively agreed on the spot to the Speaker's mediation proposal to make some adjustments related to the constituency delimitation."

He argued, "The negotiations failed because they reversed their position, saying the matters that were effectively agreed upon during key negotiations did not align with their interests," and added, "Yet they speak as if the Democratic Party is the problem, which is incomprehensible." He urged, "I hope they accept a reasonable proposal from the public's perspective even now."

When asked about the "party atmosphere regarding the application of the original plan," Secretary Kim said, "I think the People Power Party is having considerable difficulty in decision-making due to conflicts of interest among local district lawmakers," and added, "It is also true that the Democratic Party faces difficulties due to conflicts of interest inevitably arising during the local district adjustment process." He emphasized, "However, resolving this is the essence of leadership," and stressed, "It must be handled tomorrow (the 29th)."

Regarding the question of whether there is a possibility of passing the plan solely by the opposition party, he said, "Electoral district delimitation is the rule of the game," and "We have declared that we will not pass it unilaterally and intend to keep that promise." He further urged, "I repeatedly call for the electoral district delimitation to be handled through bipartisan agreement."

Originally, the Jeonggae Special Committee planned to hold a plenary meeting at 4 p.m. on the 28th to discuss electoral district delimitation, but it was tentatively postponed to 10 a.m. on the 29th.

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