'Differences in Stance Among Democratic Party Floor Leader Candidates on Standing Committee Redistribution and Cho Kuk'

Park Wan-joo "Need to Discuss Redistribution of Standing Committees with Opposition... Former Minister Cho Kuk, Evaluation Without Sanctuary"

Park Wan-joo, a member of the Democratic Party, is registering as a candidate to run for the next floor leader at the National Assembly on the 12th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] Park Wan-joo, a member of the Democratic Party who has thrown his hat into the ring for the party floor leader, expressed his intention to discuss the redistribution of standing committee chair positions, currently monopolized by the Democratic Party, with the opposition parties. Regarding the so-called 'Cho Kuk incident,' he also mentioned "unreserved reflection." Another floor leader candidate, Yoon Ho-jung, also emphasizes reform as a so-called 'pro-Moon mainstream,' but shows different stances on specific issues.

On the 13th, Park appeared on YTN Radio and stated, "The 17 standing committee chair positions were not decided through bipartisan agreement but in a distorted form, so there needs to be discussions about redistributing the standing committees."

He continued, "Both ruling and opposition parties are platforms to accept the diverse will of the people, and through parliamentary customs and bipartisan discussions, this issue must be resolved. The public hopes to see a changed 모습 where the ruling party floor leader actively communicates with the opposition, and there is a strong demand for this within the party as well."

On the other hand, Yoon, in a meeting with reporters the day before, referred to his position as the chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, saying, "There are many excellent people within the party better than me," and added, "We have no choice but to proceed according to the negotiation outcomes of the first floor leader's committee formation."

The ruling and opposition parties negotiated the distribution of standing committee chair positions last June, but after conflicts over the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, the Democratic Party ended up occupying all the positions. Park appears to be pushing for cooperation through discussions on redistributing the standing committees, while Yoon seems to want to maintain the existing structure.

Regarding former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, Park emphasized, "There are party members and lawmakers who raise reflections on the issue of former Minister Cho Kuk. This diversity can clearly serve as a standard for the public to see how the Democratic Party is changing. In evaluation and innovation, there are no sacred cows." Yoon refrained from personal evaluation, saying, "Since it happened a year and a half ago, I will not make personal judgments. I will carefully consider various opinions." Positions on the redistribution of standing committees and on former Minister Cho Kuk are expected to be variables that determine the scope of reform in the floor leader election competition.