Opposition insists on Judiciary Committee... Aiming for the Steering Committee as well

Speaker of the National Assembly Choo Mi-ae and Jeong Seong-ho Speculated
Operations Committee, Presidential Office as Oversight Agency
Also Targeting Land, Finance, and Industry Committees

The Democratic Party of Korea is aiming not only for the Speaker of the National Assembly and the Chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee but also the Chair of the Steering Committee in the formation of the 22nd National Assembly. This is interpreted as a strategic move to strengthen the processing of bills such as the special prosecutor law through the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, as well as to reinforce checks on the Presidential Office through the Steering Committee.

According to political circles on the 23rd, the Democratic Party is focusing on securing the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the Steering Committee among the 17 standing committee chair positions in the 22nd National Assembly. Traditionally, the largest party in the assembly has taken the Speaker position, while the second-largest party has held the Chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, distributing power accordingly. Additionally, the ruling party’s floor leader has typically chaired the Steering Committee to align with the government's policy direction.

However, having secured 175 seats in the April 10 general election, the Democratic Party is showing its intention to break this convention and take control of all key standing committees. Jo Jung-sik, a six-term Democratic Party lawmaker running for Speaker, emphasized on the radio the day before, "It is natural for the majority party to have the Speaker, and the Democratic Party should also take the Chairs of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the Steering Committee."

The Democratic Party’s particular interest in these two committee chairs stems from their ability to oversee legislation and the Presidential Office. The Chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee acts as a gatekeeper, reviewing bills passed by standing committees before they reach the plenary session. The Democratic Party intends to swiftly process pressing reform legislation, including the special prosecutor laws related to Chae Sang-byeong and Kim Geon-hee. It is known that Jeon Hyun-hee, the party’s elected member, is showing strong interest in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee Chair position.

Many seats were empty during the government questioning session held at the National Assembly on the 22nd. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The Steering Committee oversees the National Assembly Secretariat, the National Assembly Budget Office, and the Legislative Research Office. Most importantly, the Presidential Secretariat, the National Security Office, and the Presidential Security Service are effectively under its jurisdiction. If the Democratic Party secures the Chair of the Steering Committee, it is widely interpreted that they will intensify their offensive during the upcoming National Assembly audit, particularly targeting the National Security Office and the Security Service’s operations under the Yoon Seok-yeol administration.

In addition, the Democratic Party is also targeting the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, the Strategy and Finance Committee, and the Industry, Trade, Energy, Small and Medium Enterprises Committee. These standing committees oversee agencies closely related to the national economy. The Land Committee monitors key social overhead capital (SOC) policies, covering areas such as housing, land, construction, water resources, as well as transportation sectors including railroads, roads, aviation, and logistics. The Strategy and Finance Committee oversees the national budget and inflation, while the Industry Committee supervises various corporate supports, benefits, and trade policies.

The Democratic Party is openly expressing its intention to take control of these major standing committees. Their plan is to secure the Speaker, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, the Steering Committee, and the Land, Strategy and Finance, and Industry Committees to firmly establish the opposition’s policy dominance in the first half of the 22nd National Assembly. However, as the ruling party opposes the Democratic Party’s moves to control key committees, there is a possibility that negotiations over the assembly’s organization could be prolonged. A political insider said, "The ruling party opposes the opposition taking the Chairs of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the Steering Committee, but since the People Power Party currently lacks leadership, it seems difficult to block this."

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