Jinpyo Kim at Ruling and Opposition Floor Leaders Meeting: "Agreement on Election System Reform by End of This Month"

Yoon Jae-ok "Will Ensure Results Aligning with Purpose"
Park Kwang-on "Will Strive to Resolve Extreme Political Conflicts"

Speaker of the National Assembly Kim Jin-pyo met with the floor leaders of the ruling and opposition parties on the 13th and emphasized the need to complete negotiations on the revision of the election law by the end of this month.

During the meeting with the floor leaders of both parties at the National Assembly, Speaker Kim said, "It is time to make a decision," adding, "If the revision of the election law is completed in July, the Special Committee on Political Reform can finalize the electoral district delineation in August, and from the regular session of the National Assembly in September, we should move on to handling other bills."

Yoon Jae-ok (left), floor leader of the People Power Party, and Park Kwang-on, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, are taking a commemorative photo with Kim Jin-pyo, Speaker of the National Assembly, at a meeting of the floor leaders of the two parties presided over by the Speaker at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 13th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

He continued, "Once the regular session begins, there is little chance of dealing with the election law, so it will inevitably be delayed until the election approaches again, as before," and said, "This time, I hope a political agreement can be fully reached by the end of this month."

Regarding bills on which the ruling and opposition parties are at odds, such as the Yellow Envelope Act and the Broadcasting Act, he said, "It would be appreciated if the two floor leaders could negotiate so that 70 to 80 percent of the public can evaluate that 'enough effort has been made'."

In response, the floor leaders of both parties pledged to accelerate discussions.

Yoon Jae-ok, floor leader of the People Power Party, said, "The secretaries and senior deputy floor leaders of the Special Committee on Political Reform from both parties have been meeting continuously, but progress has not yet been made," adding, "Our party will also quickly finalize its position and do our best to achieve results in line with the Speaker's initiative."

Park Kwang-on, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said, "There is an urgent recognition that the two parties and the National Assembly must seriously find an answer to the critical task of resolving extreme political confrontation," and added, "We will do our best to reach a good conclusion."