Postponement of the Plenary Committee Meeting Originally Scheduled for the 27th
People Power Party's Floor Leader Election to be Held on the 8th of Next Month
The schedule for the plenary committee meeting to amend the election law has been postponed. Speaker of the National Assembly Kim Jin-pyo and the floor leaders of the ruling and opposition parties agreed during their meeting on the same day to handle the resolution of the National Assembly Political Reform Special Committee at the plenary session on the 30th, and then hold the plenary committee meeting. The schedule has been delayed significantly from the original plan, and with the new floor leader of the People Power Party to be elected on the 7th of next month, it is expected to have considerable impact on the election law discussions.
Speaker Kim, People Power Party floor leader Joo Ho-young, and Democratic Party floor leader Park Hong-geun held a morning meeting and agreed to review the election law resolution at the plenary committee and then process a single amended bill through bipartisan agreement. In this process, both parties agreed to handle the 'Resolution on the Improvement of the National Assembly Member Election System' from the Political Reform Special Committee at the plenary session on the 30th.
Floor leader Park said at the Democratic Party members' meeting that "The plenary committee, convened for the first time in 20 years, will be held immediately after the plenary session on the 30th when the Political Reform Special Committee's resolution is submitted," adding, "The purpose is to reflect various opinions as much as possible through the plenary committee deliberation process and to advance political reform that meets the public's expectations."
Originally, Speaker Kim and the floor leaders of both parties had planned to open the plenary committee related to the election law amendment starting on the 27th, but the schedule itself has been postponed sequentially. Both parties intended to hold intensive plenary committee meetings for about two weeks to discuss the direction of the election law amendment. Although the delay appears to be only a few days on the surface, with the ruling party's floor leader election schedule added, there is a growing possibility that hidden obstacles will arise in the plenary committee activities.
People Power Party floor leader Joo Ho-young stated at the afternoon members' meeting, "Although it is said to be within the term of the previous floor leader, the term ends on the 8th of next month," and "We plan to hold a members' meeting on the 7th to elect the successor floor leader."
The floor leadership is being replaced amid ongoing discussions on the election law between the ruling and opposition parties.
It is known that the ruling and opposition floor leaders initially discussed simultaneous resignation at the end of April. Floor leader Park's term is around May 10 (according to party rules, the second week of May), and the plan was to slightly shorten his term while extending floor leader Joo's term by a few weeks. The discussion about both party leaders ending their terms simultaneously was reportedly motivated not only by considerations of continuity in negotiations between the parties but also by the intention to conclude the election law amendment discussions within their terms.
However, with floor leader Joo being replaced in early next month, the negotiations between the ruling and opposition parties regarding the election law next month are likely to fall into uncertainty.
Both parties have set a policy to agree on and process the election law. However, during the election law amendment process, the ruling party will elect a new floor leader, while the opposition party faces a situation where its floor leader has only about one month left in the term.
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