'July National Assembly' Clash Intensifies Over Forced Session... Ruling Party "Legislative Dictatorship" vs Opposition "President Goes to NATO, Floor Leader to the Philippines... Negotiation Manipulation" (Summary)

Park Hong-geun "In an emergency, the president goes to NATO, the ruling party floor leader goes to the Philippines... Are they ignoring negotiation partners?"
Kwon Seong-dong "Democratic Party's call for an extraordinary session? A signal for the restart of legislative dictatorship"

[Asia Economy reporters Oh Ju-yeon, Geum Bo-ryeong, Park Joon-i] As negotiations over the second half of the National Assembly's organization are delayed, the Democratic Party of Korea indicated on the 28th its intention to unilaterally push forward the convening of the 'July extraordinary session.' The People Power Party opposed this, calling it a "signal of legislative dictatorship." Meanwhile, the Democratic Party harshly criticized the government and ruling party for neglecting the National Assembly's organization during this emergency situation, saying "the president is going to NATO, and the ruling party floor leader is going to the Philippines," accusing them of "manipulating negotiations." This has intensified the blame game between the ruling and opposition parties over the delay in organizing the National Assembly.

Park Hong-geun, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the party strategy meeting held at the National Assembly on the 28th and delivering opening remarks. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

On the same day, Park Hong-geun, the Democratic Party floor leader, stated at the morning floor strategy meeting, "This afternoon, the Democratic Party will submit a request to convene the July extraordinary session and initiate the normalization of the National Assembly, which the ruling party has neglected." This was a follow-up to Park's previous statement that "the July extraordinary session will be convened soon to normalize the National Assembly and address livelihood issues and personnel hearings." The Democratic Party informed reporters in the morning that "the request to convene the July extraordinary session will be submitted to the Secretariat at 13:40 today."

Park emphasized, "Until June, we will patiently and sincerely engage in negotiations to persuade the ruling party," adding, "We earnestly hope the ruling party will present a progressive concession proposal during this time."

The Democratic Party also strongly criticized the ruling party floor leader for leaving the country on the same day to attend the Philippine president's inauguration as a special envoy, leaving his post until July 1, at a time when the organization of the National Assembly is delayed and negotiations should be led by the ruling party.

Park said, "In this emergency situation, the president is going to NATO, and the ruling party floor leader boards a plane to the Philippines. This is an irresponsible manipulation of negotiations that abandons dialogue itself." He added, "Nearly two months since the Yoon Seok-yeol administration took office, it has failed to grasp the reins of state affairs and is caught up in daily short-term governance," emphasizing, "Checking on people's livelihoods is a priority, and checking in with the National Assembly is urgent."

Jin Sung-jun, the Democratic Party deputy floor leader, also appeared on KBS Radio's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs' that morning, saying, "The National Assembly has been at a standstill for over a month, yet the floor leader left the country as a diplomatic envoy. This shows there is no intention to normalize the National Assembly." He continued, "We cannot allow this parliamentary vacuum to continue indefinitely," explaining, "Therefore, the Democratic Party intends to convene the July extraordinary session."

However, the People Power Party strongly opposed the Democratic Party's unilateral convening of the July extraordinary session.

Kwon Seong-dong, floor leader of the People Power Party, is attending the floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly on the 28th and delivering opening remarks. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

On the same day, Kwon Seong-dong, the People Power Party floor leader, said at the morning floor strategy meeting, "The Democratic Party says it will submit a request to convene an extraordinary session unilaterally. I am very concerned this could be a repeat of the first half of the 2020 National Assembly."

Kwon pointed out, "Since the opening of our National Assembly, the only bad precedent of unilaterally electing the Speaker without bipartisan agreement was in the first half of the 21st National Assembly, when the Democratic Party monopolized the Speaker and Judiciary Committee Chair with its 180-seat supermajority," adding, "Moreover, the Speaker position is currently vacant, so there is no entity to draft the agenda. Also, there is no legal basis under the National Assembly Act to convene a plenary session."

He said, "There has never been a unilateral plenary session convened without bipartisan agreement," warning, "If the Democratic Party unilaterally convenes a plenary session, it will signal the restart of legislative dictatorship."

In response, Oh Young-hwan, the Democratic Party floor spokesperson, met with reporters after the meeting and criticized, "Floor leader Kwon said there is no legal basis under the National Assembly Act to convene a plenary session, but he spoke irresponsibly without confirming the facts," adding, "This can only be seen as an intentional delay and refusal to negotiate." Oh explained, "Article 14 of the National Assembly Act stipulates that if there is no Speaker, the Secretary-General can convene an extraordinary session," and further clarified, "During the period stipulated for electing the Speaker, if the Speaker is not elected five days before the previous Speaker's term expires, the most senior member acts as the interim Speaker, and if there are two or more senior members, the eldest among them can convene a plenary session to elect the Speaker."