Woo Won-sik "22nd National Assembly Opens Rapidly... Standing Committee Allocation Must Be Completed by June"

Woo Won-sik, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea who was elected as the candidate for the 22nd National Assembly Speaker in the first half, announced that he plans to complete the National Assembly opening procedures within next month, even if the ruling and opposition parties fail to reach an agreement on the standing committee chairpersons.

Woo Won-sik, the candidate elected as the Speaker of the National Assembly from the Democratic Party of Korea, is giving an acceptance speech at the elected members' general meeting held on the 16th at the National Assembly Members' Office Building for the selection of the 22nd National Assembly's first half Speaker candidates. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

In an interview with MBC Radio on the 17th, Woo was asked, "If the opening negotiations stall, do you plan to finalize the distribution of standing committees under the Speaker's authority within June?" He replied, "It should be finished within June," adding, "I intend to respect the negotiations and lead them well, but if no agreement is reached, the National Assembly will be opened quickly following the procedures stipulated in the National Assembly Act, which were agreed upon by both parties."

Effectively confirmed as the Speaker, Woo’s statement is interpreted as his intention to put the election of standing committee chairpersons to a vote through a prerogative submission if the ruling and opposition parties fail to agree. Ahead of the opening of the 22nd National Assembly, the People Power Party insists on holding the positions of Chairperson of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the Steering Committee. According to National Assembly customs, the Chairperson of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee is considered the second party’s position, while the Steering Committee Chairperson is regarded as the ruling party’s position. However, the Democratic Party is contesting to hold both the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the Steering Committee chairmanships, leading to a standoff between the parties.

Woo also mentioned the possibility of exercising the Speaker’s prerogative to submit bills directly to the plenary session if the ruling and opposition parties fail to agree on certain bills. He said, "Whether to exercise prerogative submission should be based on whether the bill benefits the people and protects their rights." Earlier, after being elected as the Speaker candidate the previous day, he accepted the election while emphasizing, "I respect negotiations between the ruling and opposition parties," but added, "If a bill that benefits the people does not progress, it will be handled according to the procedures stipulated in the National Assembly Act."

Woo criticized President Yoon Suk-yeol for repeatedly exercising his veto power. When asked about criticism that current Speaker Kim Jin-pyo did not point out President Yoon’s use of veto power, Woo said, "That criticism is valid," adding, "As Speaker, he should have clearly asserted the separation of powers and protected legislative authority by raising the issue."

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