First Meeting of Ruling and Opposition Consultative Body Chaired by Speaker
Unclear Consensus Despite Speaker's Pressure on Both Parties
The ruling and opposition parties formed a '4-member consultative body' to revise the election law and held their first discussion. They plan to gather opinions from each party over two weeks and then begin full-scale negotiations after mid-June.
Lee Yang-su, Senior Deputy Floor Leader of the People Power Party, Song Ki-heon, Senior Deputy Floor Leader of the Democratic Party, and Kim Sang-hoon of the People Power Party and Kim Young-bae of the Democratic Party, both members of the National Assembly's Special Committee on Political Reform, met on the afternoon of the 2nd at the National Assembly, chaired by Speaker Kim Jin-pyo.
An official from the Speaker's office told reporters after the meeting, "Each party agreed to engage in negotiations after sufficient deliberation and preparation regarding the election law," adding, "The deliberation and preparation process will take about two weeks, and negotiations are expected to resume after mid-June."
He continued, "Conveying the Speaker's message, each party plans to engage in negotiations after thorough deliberation and discussion regarding the election law," explaining, "It will take about two weeks."
Earlier, Speaker Kim set June as the deadline for election system reform and urged both ruling and opposition parties to form the 4-member consultative body. After the full committee activities for election reform ended in April, a subcommittee formation was proposed, but the People Power Party insisted on discussions within the Special Committee on Political Reform.
Senior Deputy Floor Leader Lee said on the day, "From the Speaker's standpoint, the election law must be finalized one year before the general election, so the urgency is understandable," adding, "The floor leaders and lawmakers of each party have different views, so they have not been able to unite their intentions."
He also said, "The Speaker suggested opening a subcommittee of the full committee, but that is not a wise method either," and added, "After discussions among several lawmakers, it was decided to ask each party to actively exchange opinions before gathering for discussions."
However, despite the Speaker's pressure, it remains uncertain whether the parties will accelerate the consensus process. When asked if the People Power Party's party stance would emerge, Senior Deputy Floor Leader Lee replied, "Not at all," and stated, "There has never been active discussion within the party regarding the election law."
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