[People 人] 20 Years of Dedication to the Democratic Party... 'Park Byeong-seok, Speaker of the National Assembly'

Representative Park Byeong-seok of the Democratic Party of Korea and Representative Ji Sang-wook of the United Future Party are taking a commemorative photo at the National Assembly plenary session hall on the 20th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] "No matter what difficulties I faced, I never once considered changing my party affiliation from the Democratic Party. I have always been proud of the Democratic Party."

Park Byeong-seok, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, saw the fruition of his 20-year dedication to the party as he rose to the position of Speaker of the National Assembly, known as the 'highest honor of the legislative branch,' in the 21st National Assembly. On the 25th, he was unanimously nominated as the Speaker candidate at the Democratic Party's elected members' general meeting. Following the long-standing convention that the ruling party holds the Speaker's seat, Park only has the plenary session for the election of the Speaker left before taking his seat.

The path to securing the Speaker title was not smooth. He challenged for the Speaker position in both the first and second halves of the 20th National Assembly. In the first half, he ranked third behind Jeong Se-gyun and Moon Hee-sang, and in the second half, he lost in a head-to-head contest against Moon. Ahead of the 21st National Assembly, he faced Kim Jin-pyo, who had strong support from pro-Moon (pro-Moon Jae-in) lawmakers, leading to speculation that it would be another tough battle.

The 'third-time candidate' Park was desperate. Since last month, he toured Honam and Chungcheong regions to make a strong impression on the elected members. For the 21st National Assembly's first-term lawmakers, he sent handwritten letters and gifted cakes to members, showing his dedication to the Speaker election. He then negotiated with Kim Jin-pyo on whether to hold a primary or reach a consensus nomination, ultimately securing Kim's concession and the Speaker seat.

Born in Daejeon, Park is a former journalist. After graduating from Daejeon High School and Sungkyunkwan University with a degree in law, he joined JoongAng Ilbo, serving as economic editor and Hong Kong correspondent. He entered politics in 1998 as the chief deputy spokesperson of the New Politics National Conference, the predecessor of the Democratic Party, shortly after the inauguration of the Kim Dae-jung administration. It is said that former President Kim Dae-jung (DJ) played a significant role in Park's entry into politics. Park accompanied DJ as a reporter during the 1992 Los Angeles (LA) riots, establishing a connection. Later, DJ personally called him to ask him to serve as spokesperson, showing great trust.

In his speech at the elected members' general meeting, Park recalled, "Looking back, despite many people's objections 20 years ago, I planted the Democratic Party's flag in Daejeon, a Democratic Party barren land and a tough constituency." He emphasized, "I proudly planted the flag in the Democratic Party despite requests from the United Liberal Democrats because my political ideology and policies aligned with the Democratic Party," adding, "It was rewarding but never an easy path."

Park is well known within the National Assembly for his diligence. During his first term, he reportedly took trains over 700 times in four years, commuting between the National Assembly and his constituency. He managed his constituency thoroughly. In the 17th National Assembly, he served as chairman of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy's New Administrative Capital Construction Committee, engaging in the administrative capital issue, a major concern in the Chungcheong region, thereby earning the trust of his constituents. In the 18th general election, despite the unfavorable situation for the then Unified Democratic Party, he was the only one elected from Daejeon.

On the 25th, at the elected members' general meeting held at the National Assembly for the election of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the 21st National Assembly's first half session of the Democratic Party of Korea, Park Byeong-seok and Kim Sang-hee, who were unanimously nominated as the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the 21st National Assembly's first half session, raised their hands and posed. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Park is also known as a rare 'diplomatic expert' within the ruling party. During his time as JoongAng Ilbo's Hong Kong correspondent, he covered the Tiananmen Square incident in China and won the Korea Journalist Award. Risking his safety, he scooped the news of former Communist Party General Secretary Zhao Ziyang's detention while staying over 50 days in Beijing. Because of this background, Park is regarded as a 'China expert' who knows China well. In 2017, he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the International Cooperation Summit Forum to help resolve conflicts arising from the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system. That same year, he led the Korea Peace and Prosperity Forum to Japan, where he discussed the Korean Peninsula situation and North Korea-Japan relations with Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers, demonstrating broad diplomatic activities. Given the need for multifaceted cooperation with neighboring countries after the COVID-19 pandemic, expectations for his role as head of the legislative branch are high.

Above all, Park faces the heavy responsibility of coordinating cooperation between the 'super ruling party' with 177 seats and the main opposition party reduced to 103 seats to achieve results. The 20th National Assembly was notorious as the 'worst National Assembly ever,' alternating between 'plant National Assembly' and 'animal National Assembly.' The fact that about 15,000 bills were discarded at the end of the 20th National Assembly's term supports this. The 21st National Assembly demands bipartisan cooperation more than ever to overcome the economic crisis caused by COVID-19. It means not repeating the mistakes of the 20th National Assembly.

Park stated, "I will immediately form a National Assembly Reform Task Force (TF) to create a dignified National Assembly." He added, "We will develop concrete implementation plans, revise laws and systems, and hold subcommittee meetings twice a month," showing strong determination for a 'working National Assembly.'

He also expressed confidence in performing his duties as Speaker with a witty joke related to his hometown. "There are concerns that the Speaker's office is filled with members from the Chungcheong region, causing delays in proceedings, but don't worry. When I was vice speaker in the 19th National Assembly, statistics showed my pace was 30% faster."