Yun Hojung: "I Will Return 7 Standing Committee Chairmanships Except the Legislation and Judiciary Committee"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jin-young] Yoon Ho-jung, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, announced on the 18th that he would return the seven standing committee chair positions, excluding the Chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, to the opposition party.

At the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly that morning, Floor Leader Yoon said, "To create a working National Assembly, we will first correct the abnormal situation caused by the breakdown of negotiations over the organization of the 21st National Assembly at its opening."

He stated, "We will return the standing committee chair positions of the Policy, Land, Education, Culture and Sports, Environment and Labor, Agriculture, and Budget and Accounts Committees, which were agreed upon by the previous floor leader Kim Tae-nyeon. However, the Chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, which the People Power Party has stubbornly demanded over the past year, is not subject to negotiation," he emphasized.

He continued, "At that time, the Speaker of the National Assembly and the floor leaders of both parties reached a tentative agreement that the majority party would take the Speaker position, the ruling party would take the Legislation and Judiciary Committee chair, the opposition party would take the Budget and Accounts Committee chair, and the remaining standing committee chairs would be divided according to the proportion of seats."

He added, "The Democratic Party will immediately begin abolishing the 'kingmaker' function of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, which has dominated other standing committees, as soon as the Chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee is elected. We will establish the precedent that whichever party becomes the ruling party will hold the Chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, and the opposition party will hold the Chair of the Budget and Accounts Committee."