Ruling and Opposition Parties Agree on December 2 and 10 Plenary Sessions... Also to Recommend Constitutional Court Justices for National Assembly's Quota

Climate Special Committee, Ethics Special Committee, Pension Special Committee to Launch Within Regular National Assembly
Ruling Party Rejects State Audit on Chae Sang-byeong Case
Opposition Party Opposes Recommendation of Special Inspector

The ruling and opposition parties have agreed to hold two plenary sessions on the 2nd and 10th of next month. They also set a deadline to push forward the recommendation of the Constitutional Court justices allocated to the National Assembly, as well as the formation of the Special Committee on Climate (Climate Special Committee), the Special Committee on Ethics (Ethics Special Committee), and the Special Committee on Pension Reform (Pension Special Committee) within this regular session of the National Assembly. However, there were disagreements between the parties regarding the state audit on the truth-finding of the death of Corporal Chae and the appointment of a special inspector.

Speaker Woo Won-shik and the floor leaders of the ruling and opposition parties are meeting in the Speaker's office at the National Assembly on the 18th. From the left, Bae Jun-young, Senior Deputy Floor Leader of the People Power Party, Choo Kyung-ho, Floor Leader, Speaker Woo, Park Chan-dae, Floor Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Park Sung-joon, Senior Deputy Floor Leader. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

On the 18th, Rep. Choo Kyung-ho, floor leader of the People Power Party, and Rep. Park Chan-dae, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, met at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, presided over by Speaker Woo Won-shik. After the meeting, Rep. Park told reporters, "We set two plenary session dates: the 2nd of next month, which is the deadline for budget review, and the 10th of next month, the last day of the regular session." He added, "If necessary, additional plenary sessions will be scheduled through consultations between the deputy floor leaders of both parties."

The Constitutional Court justices will also be appointed within this regular session. On the 17th of last month, Chief Justice Lee Jong-seok and three other justices retired, leaving only six sitting justices. All three vacant seats are to be elected by the National Assembly, but the Democratic Party and the People Power Party have not decided on successors due to disputes over the number of nominees. Rep. Park said, "We will complete the recommendation of Constitutional Court justices by the 22nd and strive to have them appointed by the regular session." However, Rep. Choo added, "We need to continue discussions between the two parties on how many justices each side will recommend."

They also agreed to form committees related to current issues such as climate and pensions. Rep. Park said, "We discussed the Climate Special Committee, Ethics Special Committee, and Pension Special Committee," adding, "We will strive to launch them within the regular session based on mutual agreement." However, the actual formation of these special committees remains uncertain. Rep. Choo explained, "Whether to launch the special committees and the specific details will be discussed between the deputy floor leaders of both parties."

There were areas where the ruling and opposition parties failed to reach an agreement. Rep. Park requested a state audit on the truth-finding of Corporal Chae's death, citing President Yoon Seok-yeol's veto, but the People Power Party did not accept this. Rep. Choo said, "Since the police investigation results have already been released, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials is conducting an investigation, and related standing committees have separately held hearings and inspections, we cannot agree on the necessity of a state audit."

The People Power Party also proposed starting the procedure to recommend a special inspector, but the Democratic Party rejected it. On the 14th, the People Power Party held a party meeting and decided to proceed with the special inspector recommendation procedure through party consensus. Rep. Park said, "This is intertwined with the special prosecutor law concerning Kim Geon-hee (Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Law), and if it is a procedure to reject the Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Law, a thorough review is necessary," adding, "The special inspector and the Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Law should be reviewed independently."

The People Power Party also urged Speaker Woo to promptly proceed with the recommendation of directors for the North Korean Human Rights Foundation. In response, Rep. Park pointed out, "The Democratic Party has approved the appointment of a standing commissioner for the Korea Communications Commission (KCC), and President Yoon should quickly appoint them," adding, "It is a situation where they do not appoint the KCC standing commissioner but only ask for the recommendation of directors for the North Korean Human Rights Foundation."

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