Kwon Seong-dong: "If the Democratic Party Gives the Judiciary Committee Chair as Agreed, the Organization of the National Assembly Will Proceed Smoothly"

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] Kwon Seong-dong, floor leader of the People Power Party, said on the 29th, "If the agreement made last year between the ruling and opposition floor leaders?that the Speaker of the National Assembly in the second half will be from the Democratic Party and the Chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee will be from the People Power Party?is upheld, the organization of the National Assembly will proceed smoothly."

After holding a press conference regarding the 'Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province Act' at the National Assembly communication office, Floor Leader Kwon told reporters, "We will begin serious negotiations with the Democratic Party on the organization of the National Assembly after the local elections."

Regarding the Democratic Party's firm stance on not conceding the Chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, he said, "Such claims by the Democratic Party violate the spirit of the agreement. Our people have ordered that the Speaker of the National Assembly and the Chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee be divided between the first and second largest parties to ensure cooperation in the National Assembly. This has been the custom and tradition of the National Assembly. Who would agree with the Democratic Party suddenly insisting on taking even the Chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee?"

On the timing of the payment of loss compensation funds following the passage of the supplementary budget, he said, "Since the government has already prepared everything, if the Cabinet meeting passes it at 8 a.m. tomorrow, payments can begin in the afternoon. Payments will be made on even and odd-numbered days, so all payments will be completed over three to four days starting tomorrow."

Regarding the Democratic Party's claim that the exclusion of retroactive application of loss compensation from the supplementary budget is a 'breach of President Yoon Seok-yeol's election pledge,' he called it "a unilateral claim by the Democratic Party" and pointed out, "To apply loss compensation retroactively, self-employed and small business owners must submit proof of losses to the government, and the government must investigate whether these claims are lawful and valid. This process would take at least a year."

He added, "If our government were to apply retroactively, many small business owners would likely go bankrupt in the meantime. Therefore, we are providing compensation under the name of loss compensation in a retroactive format ranging from a minimum of 6 million won to a maximum of 10 million won."