22nd First Plenary Session... Democratic Party: "Following the National Assembly Act is a Democratic Procedure"

People Power Party: "Democratic Party Ignores National Assembly Customs, Acts Dictatorial"

Although the 22nd National Assembly's first plenary session is approaching, the ruling and opposition parties remain at an impasse. The People Power Party criticized the Democratic Party of Korea for trying to monopolize key standing committee chairmanships, calling it 'parliamentary dictatorship,' while the Democratic Party countered that not following the National Assembly Act is the real dictatorship.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 5th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

On the morning of the 5th, Park Chan-dae, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, said at a Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, "I hope it is not true that the People Power Party is considering boycotting the plenary session," adding, "Boycotting from the very first schedule of the 22nd National Assembly is disrespectful to the people." He continued, "The public does not want a National Assembly that drags out time by stubbornly clinging to outdated customs," emphasizing, "After electing the Speaker and Deputy Speakers, we should not waste time and must elect the standing committee chairpersons within the period specified by the National Assembly Act."

He also criticized the People Power Party for not following the National Assembly Act, saying it is close to parliamentary dictatorship. Floor leader Park said, "Following the National Assembly Act is about adhering to democratic procedures," and asked, "Is the Democratic Party, which advocates majority rule, a parliamentary dictatorship?" He pointed out, "It is dictatorship when the president arbitrarily vetoes bills passed through democratic procedures in the National Assembly repeatedly." Furthermore, he said, "If the People Power Party truly wants to criticize dictatorship, they should start by criticizing President Yoon's dictatorship."

On the other hand, Choo Kyung-ho, the floor leader of the People Power Party, criticized the Democratic Party at an emergency committee meeting held at the National Assembly on the 3rd, saying, "The Democratic Party, just because it is the majority party, only forces the minority party to submit," and "They dream of parliamentary dictatorship by ignoring the spirit of the National Assembly Act and parliamentary customs."

The National Assembly is scheduled to hold the first plenary session of the 22nd National Assembly this afternoon. Members are expected to elect the Speaker and Deputy Speakers for the first half of the term during the plenary session. However, as negotiations over the formation of the National Assembly are facing difficulties, the People Power Party is considering boycotting the plenary session. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party has selected Representative Woo Won-sik as the candidate for Speaker and Representative Lee Hak-young as the candidate for Deputy Speaker, but the People Power Party has yet to decide on a candidate for Deputy Speaker.

The Democratic Party intends to take the chairmanships of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, the Steering Committee, and the Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Committee, but the People Power Party opposes this. They argue that the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee should go to the second-largest party, and the chairmanship of the Steering Committee should go to the ruling party, following parliamentary customs. However, the Democratic Party has hinted that if no agreement is reached on the formation of the National Assembly, they will occupy all 18 standing committee chairmanships through a solo vote in the plenary session on the 7th.

There is also a possibility of a dramatic resolution regarding the formation of the National Assembly. Floor leaders Park and Choo are negotiating this morning in the office of the Steering Committee Chair at the National Assembly.

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