The Democratic Party Activates Special Committee Amid Difficulties in National Assembly Formation Negotiations

The Special Committee on Stabilizing the People's Economy to Discuss Jointly with Party and Government
Possibility of Additional Special Committees on Foreign Affairs, Security, and Education Reform

The People Power Party decided to form a special committee to address pressing livelihood issues as negotiations for the 22nd National Assembly's organizational structure faced difficulties.

On the 3rd, Choo Kyung-ho, floor leader of the People Power Party, is performing the national ceremony at the members' meeting held at the National Assembly. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Jang Dong-hyuk, the senior floor spokesperson for the People Power Party, met with reporters at the National Assembly on the morning of the 4th and said, "Since the standing committees have not yet been formed, the ruling party cannot afford to halt discussions on livelihood issues even for a day, so we have formed a special committee on our own." He added, "In the case of the Special Committee on Livelihood Economic Stabilization, our party and the government will jointly form the committee to discuss livelihood matters." The People Power Party decided at a party meeting on the 3rd to establish 12 special committees, including those addressing low birth rates, livelihood economic stabilization, tax reform, and pension reform.

Senior floor spokesperson Jang explained, "Besides what was announced yesterday, some members have suggested that additional special committees on foreign affairs and security or education reform might be necessary." He continued, "We will gather those opinions and go through the process of deciding which special committees to form and who to assign to them, and I expect the committees to be established soon."

The reason the People Power Party has turned to special committee politics is that negotiations with the Democratic Party of Korea on the organizational structure have not progressed. The Democratic Party insists that it should hold the chairmanships of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, the Steering Committee, and the Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Committee. The People Power Party also refuses to back down, arguing that the ruling party should hold these three chair positions.

Choo Kyung-ho, the floor leader of the People Power Party, said at the party meeting the day before, "We appeal once again to the Democratic Party. We hope you will engage in negotiations on the organizational structure based on the grand principle of cooperation and agreement for checks and balances between the ruling and opposition parties." He emphasized, "If the first party takes the Speaker of the National Assembly, the second party should take the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, and it is a precedent that the ruling party holds the Steering Committee, which has never been broken since democratization in 1987."

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