Speaker Park Byeong-seok to convene plenary session at 7 PM today... Vote on Prime Minister Kim Bu-gyeom's confirmation

Yun Ho-jung, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Kim Ki-hyun, the floor leader of the People Power Party, are leaving the Speaker's office after a meeting between ruling and opposition party floor leaders presided over by National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seok on the 13th./Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jin-young] Amid stalled negotiations between the ruling and opposition parties over the adoption of the confirmation reports for Prime Minister nominee Kim Boo-kyum and three ministerial nominees, National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seok decided to hold a plenary session at 7 p.m. on the 13th to vote on the Prime Minister appointment consent bill.

Han Min-su, the Speaker’s chief public relations officer, told reporters after a meeting between the ruling and opposition floor leaders that day, “The Speaker expressed his intention to hold today’s plenary session to handle the Prime Minister confirmation bill, as the situation has inevitably become a wasteful debate.”

Speaker Park explained the reason for convening the plenary session, saying, “In the ongoing COVID-19 and livelihood crisis, we can no longer delay the election of the Prime Minister who oversees the Cabinet. We cannot allow a Prime Minister vacancy to continue any longer.” He added, “Next week, the President will leave the country for the Korea-US summit, and having both the Prime Minister and the President absent from the country is neither right for the people nor in the national interest.”

He continued, “(Speaker Park) requested the Blue House to listen to the voice of public opinion and take appropriate measures accordingly,” emphasizing, “This also took into account the resignation of Minister nominee Park Jun-young of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.”

He also said, “Despite several public and private negotiations and urging for an agreement, it is regrettable to the people that the ruling and opposition parties failed to reach a consensus on this issue,” according to the chief public relations officer.

That day, the ruling and opposition floor leaders met for about an hour under the Speaker’s chairmanship but ultimately failed to reach an agreement. Yoon Ho-jung, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, told reporters after the meeting, “Today, Minister nominee Park voluntarily resigned, fully reflecting the will of the people and the opposition party.” He added, “Therefore, we requested the opposition party to cooperate in handling the Prime Minister confirmation bill, but we did not receive a satisfactory response.”

The opposition party also holds the position that Minister nominee Lim Hye-sook of the Ministry of Science and ICT should not be confirmed. Kim Ki-hyun, floor leader of the People Power Party, said, “For the smooth progress of the National Assembly’s proceedings, we demanded that at least nominees Park Jun-young and Lim Hye-sook be deemed unfit and replaced with others, but this was not accepted.” He added, “It is difficult to agree to the confirmation hearing process.”