The Democratic Party proceeded with the election of chairs for 11 committees in the National Assembly on June 30, following a failed final negotiation with the People Power Party regarding the formation of the second half of the Assembly. The Democratic Party stated that this was an unavoidable choice for a functioning legislature, while the People Power Party boycotted the vote, asserting that "there will be no negotiations without normalization of the committee structure."
During the National Assembly session led by the Democratic Party, new chairs were elected for the Legislation and Judiciary Committee (Chair: Seo Young-kyo), the Operations Committee (Chair: Han Byeong-do), the Political Affairs Committee (Chair: Yoo Dong-soo), the Finance and Economy Committee (Chair: Jo Seung-rae), the Science and Technology Committee (Chair: Song Gi-heon), the Interior and Safety Committee (Chair: Kim Young-jin), the National Defense Committee (Chair: Jin Seong-jun), the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee (Chair: Lee Jae-jeong), the Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs and Fisheries Committee (Chair: Seo Sam-seok), the Environment and Labor Committee (Chair: Kim Jeong-ho), and the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts (Chair: Lee Kwang-jae).
Chun Jun-ho, the Democratic Party's floor leader, announced the list and told reporters, "The Democratic Party has taken control of the 11 committees based on the proportion of seats, while also considering the position of the People Power Party."
However, some critics have labeled the Democratic Party's control of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, as well as key economic committees like the Political Affairs and Finance Committees, as unilateral.
In response, Chun explained, "The People Power Party held the Political Affairs and Finance Committees in the first half, but there were difficulties in advancing national agenda items. We judged that it would be better for us to take charge since the processing of bills was quite low."
The People Power Party is expected to retain the seven committees that were not elected that day, including the Education Committee, Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, Industry, Trade, and Energy Committee, Welfare Committee, Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, Intelligence Committee, and Gender Equality and Family Committee.
Jung Jeom-sik, the floor leader of the People Power Party, criticized the National Assembly Speaker Cho Jung-sik during a party meeting, stating that he did not maintain political neutrality in the formation of the second half of the Assembly, suggesting, "Perhaps he should consider working with the Democratic Party."
Additionally, People Power Party lawmakers protested in the Assembly, holding signs that read, 'Stop the Democratic Party's Attempt to Dominate Committees' and 'Democratic Party's Rush in Assembly Formation is Public Pressure.'
Earlier, Speaker Cho had met with the floor leaders of both parties, demanding the submission of committee member lists according to the National Assembly Act. After the People Power Party repeatedly failed to submit the lists, he resorted to forced allocation.
In this context, the People Power Party announced that "Speaker Cho forcibly appointed members to the 11 committees and notified us," and submitted a formal request for the resignation of the party-affiliated members appointed to the 11 committees to the National Assembly's legislative office. This was a countermeasure against the Democratic Party's unilateral handling of the committees.
Jung, speaking to reporters outside the Assembly, warned, "The People Power Party will not engage in one-sided committee formation that resembles a distribution of crumbs without negotiations. There will be no negotiations or cooperation without normalization of the committee structure." He emphasized to the Democratic Party, "If you want it so badly, take all the power. However, from now on, all responsibilities for governance will fall on the Democratic Party." The conflict between the Democratic Party and the People Power Party is expected to intensify.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.