Ruling and Opposition Parties Fail to Agree on July National Assembly Schedule: "Must Become a Working Parliament" vs. "One-Party Dictatorship Style Operation"

Kim Young-jin, Senior Deputy Floor Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Kim Sung-won, Senior Deputy Floor Leader of the United Future Party, held a meeting at the National Assembly on the 13th. The senior deputy floor leaders of both parties discussed the legislative schedule for the July extraordinary session./Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] The July extraordinary session of the National Assembly opened on the 6th, but the ruling and opposition parties met on the 13th to discuss the opening ceremony and other legislative schedules, failing to reach an agreement.

Kim Young-jin of the Democratic Party and Kim Sung-won of the United Future Party, both deputy floor leaders, negotiated the legislative schedule for about an hour starting at 3 p.m. that day but could not reach a conclusion.

Immediately after the meeting, Deputy Floor Leader Kim Sung-won said, "Both parties presented their opinions and made significant progress, but we could not reach an agreement," adding, "We will inform you of the results through further advanced negotiations." Deputy Floor Leader Kim Young-jin explained, "Specifically, we exchanged views on the opening ceremony, speeches by the heads of each party's negotiation groups, government questioning, and standing committee activities," and added, "Each party has its opinions and there are some issues to be further adjusted, so we decided to meet once more to discuss."

The July extraordinary session began on the 6th, but it has not been properly activated due to disagreements between the ruling and opposition parties over President Moon Jae-in's opening speech, the election of the National Assembly vice-chairman, and the intelligence committee chairman.

The Democratic Party argues that without the appointment of the opposition's National Assembly vice-chairman, it is difficult to schedule the confirmation hearing for Park Ji-won, the nominee for the National Intelligence Service director, as well as the election of the intelligence committee chairman. On the other hand, the United Future Party stated that it depends on the Speaker of the National Assembly's decision and expressed willingness to forgo the vice-chairman position, given that the ruling party has taken all the standing committee chairmanships.

Regarding the opening ceremony, the ruling and opposition parties have also failed to narrow their differences over President Moon Jae-in's opening speech. Additionally, there are differing positions between the parties on issues such as the nomination committee for the head of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Agency and summoning Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl to the Judiciary Committee.

Originally, the Democratic Party planned to hold the opening ceremony at a plenary session on the 15th, but this is expected to be adjusted. Deputy Floor Leader Kim Young-jin said, "The timing of the plenary session will likely be slightly adjusted," adding, "We will meet once more tomorrow to discuss." The United Future Party previously stated that holding the plenary session on the 15th would be inappropriate as party members plan to attend the funeral of the late General Baek Seon-yeop.

Meanwhile, both parties blamed each other for the National Assembly's failure to operate properly.

Deputy Floor Leader Kim Sung-won said in a pre-negotiation statement, "Not only in diplomatic and security matters but also economically and socially, South Korea is quite chaotic. The National Assembly should take the lead, but it seems that the ruling party is operating in a one-party dictatorship style, so things are not being done properly," adding, "Through sincere negotiations, we will create a National Assembly role that can fulfill its duties."

In response, Deputy Floor Leader Kim Young-jin said, "It has already been three months since the general election ended. The people wanted a working National Assembly, and we tried, but we apologize for the failure of the ruling and opposition parties to smoothly organize the National Assembly," adding, "I hope the ruling and opposition parties join forces to create a turning point to overcome economic and diplomatic security crises together."