Ruling and Opposition Parties Clash from the Start Ahead of the 22nd National Assembly's First Plenary Session

Election of the First Half Speaker Panel 5 Days Ago
Vote on Woo Won-sik as Speaker Nominee
Rising Conflict Over Distribution of Standing Committee Chairs Between Ruling and Opposition Parties

The political sphere will hold the first plenary session of the 22nd National Assembly on the 5th and elect the Speaker and Deputy Speakers for the first half of the term. However, concerns are rising that the session will not proceed smoothly from the start due to difficulties in negotiations between the ruling and opposition parties over the composition of the National Assembly, including the chairpersons of standing committees.

According to political sources, the National Assembly will elect the Speaker and Deputy Speakers through a vote at the first plenary session. Previously, the Democratic Party nominated five-term lawmaker Woo Won-sik as the Speaker for the first half of the 22nd National Assembly through a primary. The Democratic Party’s Deputy Speaker candidate is four-term lawmaker Lee Hak-young, while the People Power Party’s candidate for Deputy Speaker remains undecided.

The ruling party’s failure to nominate a Deputy Speaker candidate until a day before the first plenary session stems from a deadlock between the ruling and opposition parties over the allocation of key standing committee chairmanships. The Democratic Party, based on its absolute majority seats, is aiming not only for the Speaker, the Chairperson of the Steering Committee, and the Chairperson of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee but also the Chairperson of the Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Committee.

Speaker of the National Assembly Kim Jin-pyo is announcing the voting results of the "Special Prosecutor Act on the Investigation Pressure Allegations in the Death Case of Marine Sergeant Chaesang" which was submitted as a reconsideration agenda but was rejected at the plenary session held at the National Assembly on the 28th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

The People Power Party, the second-largest party in the National Assembly, is protesting to the Democratic Party that, according to precedent, the ruling party should take the Chairperson of the Steering Committee, and the second-largest party should take the Chairperson of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. The ruling party is also dissatisfied with the opposition’s unilateral scheduling of the plenary session. After the party strategy meeting on the 4th, People Power Party floor leader Choo Kyung-ho told reporters, "The provisions for the 5th and 7th are not mandatory but advisory," emphasizing, "The National Assembly should be organized based on dialogue and agreement between the ruling and opposition parties."

As the confrontation over the standing committee chairpersons prolongs, there is cautious speculation that the People Power Party might boycott the plenary session. In response, Jang Dong-hyuk, the People Power Party’s chief floor spokesperson, left open the possibility, stating, "The decision on attendance at the plenary session will be made through a party caucus."

On the other hand, the Democratic Party is threatening to finalize the negotiations on the composition of the National Assembly by the legal deadline of the 7th. Based on the seat distribution in the 22nd National Assembly, if 18 standing committees are allocated, the People Power Party could receive 7 and the Democratic Party 11. However, the ruling party pressured that if the opposition does not present a committee negotiation proposal, it could secure all 18 standing committee chairmanships through a vote.

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