Ruling and Opposition Parties Fail to Agree on Committee Formation... Additional Talks Scheduled Until the 7th

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The People Power Party and the Democratic Party held a 2+2 meeting involving floor leaders and deputy floor leaders on the 5th, the day of the first plenary session of the 22nd National Assembly, to negotiate the organization of the Assembly, but they failed to reach an agreement.

Park Chan-dae, the Democratic Party floor leader, said to reporters after meeting with Chu Kyung-ho, the People Power Party floor leader, at the National Assembly that morning, "We discussed matters related to the organization of the Assembly with Floor Leader Chu, but we could not reach an agreement."

He added, "Since we could not reach an agreement on the appointment of the standing committee chairs for the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, the Steering Committee, and the Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Committee, we will continue to make additional efforts until the legal deadline of June 7," and said, "After the election of the Speaker and the Speaker’s group at 2 p.m. today, we will proceed while consulting together."

Earlier, the Democratic Party declared that it would take the chairmanships of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the Steering Committee, while the People Power Party opposed this, arguing that traditionally the ruling party as the first party in the Assembly takes the Speaker position, and the second party and the ruling party take the chairmanships of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the Steering Committee respectively. Accordingly, Floor Leader Chu, Deputy Floor Leader Bae Jun-young of the People Power Party, Floor Leader Park, and Deputy Floor Leader Park Sung-joon of the Democratic Party met at the National Assembly ahead of the plenary session for the election of the Speaker and the Speaker’s group at 2 p.m. and negotiated the organization of the Assembly for about an hour.

Right after Floor Leader Park’s remarks, Floor Leader Chu told reporters, "The People Power Party expressed strong regret that the plenary session was held without agreement on the agenda today," and explained, "Regarding the organization of the Assembly, including the chairmanships of standing committees, as Floor Leader Park said, we represented our respective party positions but failed to narrow the differences. We will continue to engage in dialogue going forward."

On the 5th, Choo Kyung-ho, floor leader of the People Power Party, and Park Chan-dae, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, met at the National Assembly to discuss the organization of the floor, among other matters. From the left: Bae Jun-young, senior deputy floor leader of the People Power Party; Floor Leader Choo; Floor Leader Park of the Democratic Party of Korea; and Park Sung-jun, senior deputy floor leader. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

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The tense exchanges between the floor leaders of the ruling and opposition parties continued in front of reporters. Floor Leader Park conveyed that the Democratic Party plans to push ahead with the organization of the Assembly on the 7th even if no agreement is reached with the People Power Party. He said, "We will continue to attempt dialogue and compromise and strive for agreement, but the Democratic Party will elect the Speaker’s group today and make every effort until the last moment to complete the organization of the Assembly by the legal deadline on the 7th," adding, "For bipartisan cooperation and for the National Assembly to properly fulfill its role, the most important thing is to set the first step correctly, which is to organize the Assembly within the legal timeframe. This position is clear, and I hope Floor Leader Chu will make a decision and join us in following the law."

In response, Floor Leader Chu mentioned that, according to precedent, the People Power Party should take the chairmanships of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, the Steering Committee, and the Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Committee, and countered Floor Leader Park’s statement about "following the law" by saying, "The National Assembly Act embodies the spirit of cooperation through dialogue and compromise based on agreement." Floor Leader Chu also said, "(At the meeting) I said, 'You should not interpret "following the law" literally. If you do, it would be "following the strong,"' and added, "We exchanged our basic positions between the two parties and agreed to continue dialogue. We will try to put our heads together toward a good direction and goal and continue discussions."

Floor Leader Park rebutted Floor Leader Chu’s remarks by saying, "It is a beautiful thing for the operation of the National Assembly to negotiate and communicate sufficiently until an agreement is reached, but the law cannot be violated." He further explained, "While precedent is important, the Democratic Party’s position is that if sufficient consultation does not lead to agreement within the timeframe, decisions must be made according to the law and democratic principles," adding, "In this regard, we have not reached consultation or agreement." In response, Floor Leader Chu told Floor Leader Park, "Let’s not misinterpret the law," and pointed out, "That is the spirit of dialogue."

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