Park Byeong-seok, Speaker of the National Assembly, Criticizes Opposition on Retirement Path: "0.7%P Difference, but Defeat Is Defeat"

Held Retirement Press Conference on the 26th and Shared Reflections
"Tried to Bloom the Flower of Compromise in Parliamentary Democracy"

Speaker of the National Assembly Park Byeong-seok held a press conference at the National Assembly on the 26th, sharing his reflections on leading the first half of the 21st National Assembly. Speaker Park will retire on the 29th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Park Byeong-seok, Speaker of the National Assembly, who is concluding his term, pointed out internal issues within the Democratic Party of Korea during his farewell press conference, stating, "Although the presidential election was lost by a narrow margin of 0.7%, a defeat is a defeat."

At the farewell press conference held at the National Assembly on the 26th, Park responded to reporters' questions asking, "As a politician affiliated with the Democratic Party, what is your view on the current situation, such as the disciplinary action against Representative Choi Kang-wook and the '586 retirement theory'?"

He explained, "On top of such a defeat, especially with President Moon Jae-in of the same party maintaining approval ratings above 40%, there was a lack of sincere self-reflection on why we lost," adding, "I believe that after the local elections, the Democratic Party will be a party that can find reasonable solutions through intense debate."

Regarding the question, "You were often attacked by various lawmakers during your term," he replied, "In the case of Representative Kim related to the Media Arbitration Act, he posted on his private Facebook but immediately deleted it, and he also came to me, the Speaker, to offer the fullest personal apology possible."

Addressing the media, he said, "Freedom of the press must be guaranteed, but there must be responsible measures taken against clear and obvious false reports," and added, "The National Assembly also proposed reasonable measures, and the media organizations have promised to establish self-regulatory measures with the National Assembly."

On this day, Speaker Park expressed in his press statement, "I have done my best with only the people and national interest in mind."

He reflected, "I recall the pledge I made on the first day I took office as Speaker two years ago in June. At that time, I promised to prioritize 'communication' and to operate the National Assembly through 'dialogue and compromise.'"

He continued, "I deeply engraved the phrase 'Gunju Minsu (君舟民水)' in my heart. Politics is like a boat, and the people are like the water," adding, "The water can float the boat called politics, but it can also overturn it at any time."

Speaker Park emphasized, "Above all, I aimed to cultivate parliamentary democracy based on dialogue and compromise," and highlighted, "The 21st National Assembly passed almost all bills through bipartisan agreement."

He added, "Recently, there was a clash between the ruling and opposition parties during the process of revising the Prosecutors' Office Act and the Criminal Procedure Act," and said, "The Speaker's mediation proposal was an agreement reached by the floor leaders of both parties."

He also stated, "The budget bill was passed within the legal deadline for two consecutive years through bipartisan agreement. This is a very rare and good precedent," and self-evaluated, "Over the past two years, I have met with Speakers of Parliament from 67 countries and top leaders such as presidents, kings, and prime ministers from 23 countries at various international conferences."

Speaker Park stressed the need for 'national unity' in the current political landscape. He said, "Our politics today is accustomed to division, hatred, and hostile criticism. We must soberly reflect on whether we are only listening to applause from our own side," and added, "A constitutional amendment is absolutely necessary to institutionally achieve national unity."