Democratic Party: "No Response from Ruling Party on Proposed Special Trade Committee... Hope It Becomes a Key Issue"

Cho Seungrae: "Special Trade Committee Proposal Should Be Put on the Negotiation Table"
"Building Consensus on the Extra Budget at the National Policy Council Is Important"
Maintaining Existing Position on the 52-Hour Clause in the Semiconductor Law

Cho Seungrae, chief spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Korea, stated, "Democratic Party leader Lee Jaemyung has proposed the formation of a special trade committee several times, but the ruling party has not responded," adding, "I hope the National Assembly's Special Committee on Trade will become one of the key topics."

Yonhap News

On February 20 at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Cho Seungrae met with reporters and commented on the Trump administration's tariff policies, saying, "We have no choice but to mobilize all government capabilities to discuss a response, and I believe there is a role for the National Assembly to play."

Cho further explained, "Since the Democratic Party has raised the issue of the special trade committee twice in public meetings, it should be brought to the negotiation table as an official party agenda," suggesting that the issue could be mentioned at the National Policy Council meeting.

He also emphasized the importance of building consensus on the supplementary budget (extra budget) at the National Policy Council meeting scheduled for later that afternoon. Cho said, "Usually, each party leader makes a decision and officials draft a proposal to reach an agreement, but that hasn't happened this time. Even if there is no agreement on the specific size or items, at the very least, there should be a consensus on the necessity of the extra budget."

Regarding the next steps, he added, "The government will estimate the necessary size of the extra budget and determine the items, then submit the supplementary budget bill to the National Assembly. After that, there will be a process in which the ruling and opposition parties, together with the government, reach a tripartite agreement and make adjustments."

On the issue of the semiconductor special law's research and development (R&D) 52-hour workweek exemption clause, Cho indicated that the party would maintain its existing stance at the National Policy Council meeting. He stated, "The People Power Party says they will not discuss the semiconductor special law unless the exemption clause is passed without dialogue with either businesses or workers. Our position is that businesses are not even fully utilizing the current system, and we want to make it easier for them to do so."

He continued, "There is a slight difference between the 52-hour exemption clause advocated by the People Power Party and what businesses are actually requesting. Our position is to process the agreed-upon parts and continue discussions on the remaining issues, but the People Power Party insists on doing nothing at all."

Meanwhile, regarding the controversy within the party over Lee Jaemyung's remarks about being a 'centrist conservative party,' Cho Seungrae commented, "Our party is a broad-spectrum party with a diversity of political, ideological, and policy convictions," and added, "There is no need to worry about the emergence of various voices."

He further explained, "I hope we can approach the question of which policies and directions will solve current problems with a flexible and open attitude, and both the party and leader Lee are moving forward on that basis."

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