Last-Minute Negotiations Fail as National Assembly Prepares to Convene

Negotiations between the ruling and opposition parties to finalize the composition of the National Assembly ahead of its upcoming session have collapsed. A second round of talks, initiated by National Assembly Speaker Cho Jeong-sik, failed to yield results despite being held in the morning and again in the afternoon.

On June 30, the floor leaders and deputy floor leaders of both parties met at the National Assembly but achieved no significant progress. Earlier, Speaker Cho postponed the plenary session from 2 PM to 5 PM in hopes of reaching a consensus.

The two parties remained at an impasse over the allocation of the chairmanship of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee. After the meeting, Jeong Jeom-sik, the floor leader of the People's Power Party, told reporters, "The final negotiations before the plenary session have ended without agreement. The Democratic Party continues to insist that it cannot concede the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee."

Han Byeong-do, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, confirmed the breakdown of the last negotiations, stating, "If the plenary session is held at 5 PM, we will proceed to elect the 11 committee chairs designated by the Democratic Party first."

He emphasized, "Starting tomorrow, we will fully activate the National Assembly to expedite the processing of urgent legislative tasks and issues. The National Assembly has been in a state of paralysis for a month, and we can no longer afford to let this continue."

As a result, the Democratic Party is expected to unilaterally elect the chairpersons of 11 out of 18 committees, including the Legislation and Judiciary Committee.