PPP Demands Judiciary Committee Chairmanship After Power Shift... Jung Chungrae Says "Couldn't Help But Chuckle"

Jung Chungrae Expresses Opposition to People Power Party's Demand on Facebook
Joo Jinwoo: "Return the Legislation and Judiciary Committee Chairmanship and Normalize the Committee"
Na Kyungwon: "This Directly Undermines the Spirit of Separation of Powers"

Jung Chungrae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea and chair of the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee, expressed his opposition to the People Power Party's demand to return the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, saying he "couldn't help but chuckle."

On June 9, Jung wrote on his Facebook account, "The People Power Party says, 'The chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee should be returned to the opposition for the normalization of the National Assembly.' I couldn't help but chuckle," adding, "I am opposed to this."

Jung Chungrae, member of the Democratic Party of Korea.

The People Power Party has argued that, since the Democratic Party became the ruling party following the recent presidential election, the opposition should take the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee to normalize the National Assembly. Joo Jinwoo, legal advisory committee member of the People Power Party, stated in a statement the previous day, "To ensure checks on the executive branch, the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee should now be held by the opposition," and called on the Democratic Party to "return the chairmanship and normalize the committee."

He emphasized that the new government's first task should be not just "verbal unity," but the "normalization of the National Assembly." He continued, "Last year, the Democratic Party monopolized the chairmanships of both the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the Steering Committee, arguing that checking the executive branch was more important than parliamentary customs." He added, "Throughout constitutional history, the Speaker of the National Assembly and the chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee have always been held by different parties to ensure mutual checks and balances." He further stated, "If the Democratic Party ignores this custom, cooperation between the ruling and opposition parties will disappear, and important bills affecting people's livelihoods will not be properly deliberated." He also argued, "With a Democratic Party chair merely rubber-stamping, neither legislative review nor judicial appointments can be properly scrutinized."

Na Kyungwon, member of the People Power Party.

Na Kyungwon also wrote on Facebook, "The president, a supermajority ruling bloc with 193 seats, the Speaker of the National Assembly, and even the chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. Monopolizing all of these directly undermines the spirit of the separation of powers and reduces the National Assembly to a mere rubber stamp for the Lee Jaemyung administration." She continued, "The Democratic Party must immediately return the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee to the People Power Party," expressing concern that "if things continue as they are, bills that could upend the lives of the people will be passed with just one push of the Lee Jaemyung voting button." She added, "The National Assembly has become the legislative arm of the Lee Jaemyung administration. Refusing to hand over the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee to the opposition is tantamount to the Lee Jaemyung administration declaring itself an unchecked, absolute dictatorship."

The Democratic Party is rebutting the People Power Party's claims, saying they are "not valid." Seo Youngkyo, a candidate for the Democratic Party floor leader, told reporters at the National Assembly's communication center the previous day, "The negotiation on the allocation of standing committee chairmanships was concluded according to the number of seats when the 22nd National Assembly was launched, and it is not reasonable to demand a change just because the floor leader has changed after a year." She added, "Therefore, it is only right that we hold the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee as originally negotiated."

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