'Democratic Party 6-term' Park Byeong-seok, Not Running in General Election... "Time to Step Down from Role"

Assemblyman Park Byeong-seok Declares He Will Not Run in Next Year's General Election
"Hope a New Person with a Sense of Balance Takes Over"

Park Byeong-seok, a six-term member of the Democratic Party of Korea who served as the Speaker of the 21st National Assembly during its first half, announced on the 6th that he will not run in next year's 22nd general election.

On the morning of the same day, Park held a press conference at the National Assembly Members' Office Building and stated, "I entered politics at the urging of President Kim Dae-jung and have served as a six-term lawmaker and Speaker of the National Assembly. I devoted myself with earnest passion, and now I believe it is time to step down from my role in the National Assembly."

Park Byeong-seok, a member of the Democratic Party who served as the Speaker of the 21st National Assembly during its first half, announced on the 6th at the National Assembly Members' Office Building that he will not run in the upcoming general election. [Image source=Yonhap News]

He said, "I hope that my vacant seat will be taken by a new person with a strong sense of mission for the times, balanced judgment, and passion. I report and inform the people, the residents of Daejeon Seo-gu Gap, and my fellow party members who have shared hardships with me for a long time about my decision not to run."

Park also cited "political innovation" as a task he was unable to accomplish. He said, "The path for the National Assembly to firmly stand on the foundation of the separation of powers and open the way for coexistence and cooperation is still a distant story. Politics of dialogue and compromise is possible through constitutional amendments that decentralize the presidential powers, which are often criticized as imperial. To create cooperation, the system must be designed so that no decision exceeds a majority of the total seats."

He added, "Whether it is the first or second party, an electoral system that allows only passing the plenary session of the National Assembly through consensus with at least one other party, creating a coalition majority, is necessary. I urge the 22nd National Assembly to achieve institutional reform through dialogue and compromise with the trust of the people." To his fellow lawmakers, he said, "Always keep in your heart the sense of mission as representatives of the people and as the last bastion of democracy."

Meanwhile, Park is the third member of the Democratic Party to announce that they will not run in next year's general election, following Woo Sang-ho and Oh Young-hwan.