"Average 45 Days Late" National Assembly Repeatedly on Strike, Again This Time? [News Analysis]

⑮Power Struggle Between Ruling and Opposition Parties Over Standing Committees
14th to 21st National Assembly, Average 45 Days Late Opening
Longest Record: 14th Assembly... Term Started 125 Days Late

Editor's Note'Seolcham' is a newly coined term meaning to refer to detailed explanations. In [News Seolcham], we aim to pinpoint and explain in more detail the parts of the news that require fact-checking or further explanation.

As the ruling and opposition parties show signs of conflict in negotiations over the formation of the National Assembly leadership, concerns are rising that another legislative vacuum could occur. Although the 14th National Assembly set a deadline for leadership formation through amendments to the National Assembly Act, the Assembly has repeatedly convened late. Will the 22nd National Assembly, where the power struggle over specific standing committees is intense, repeat the precedent of a 'business suspension'?

On the night of the 10th, the voting day of the April 10 general election, a drone show conducted by a broadcasting station can be seen behind the National Assembly.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Negotiations over the formation of the Assembly leadership, which begin after the parliamentary elections, refer to the process of distributing key National Assembly positions such as the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, and chairpersons of standing committees among the negotiating parties. The biggest point of contention in leadership formation is the 'distribution of standing committee chairpersons.' Standing committee chairpersons are called the 'real power holders' of the Assembly because they have the authority not only to propose agendas but also to process them.

The negotiations for electing the Speaker and Deputy Speaker, selecting standing committee chairpersons, and assigning standing committee members are centered around the parties that form negotiating groups, and the standing committee chairperson positions are decided through negotiations among these groups. If negotiations do not proceed smoothly, the formation of the leadership inevitably gets delayed. In particular, the position of the Chairperson of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee is highly coveted by each party. Since bills reviewed by the relevant standing committees must undergo systematic and detailed scrutiny by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee before being submitted to the plenary session, the chairperson of this committee holds significant authority and role. Additionally, the battle for the Chairperson of the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, which oversees the review of government budgets worth hundreds of trillions of won, is also fierce.

Currently, the Democratic Party believes it must retain the Chairpersonship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee to secure legislative momentum. During the 21st National Assembly, several laws pushed by the Democratic Party, such as the Grain Management Act, the Yellow Envelope Act, the Nursing Act, and the Broadcasting Three Acts, were all blocked and delayed in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, which was chaired by Kim Do-eup of the People Power Party at the time. The Democratic Party plans to pursue special investigation laws related to Chae Sang-byeong and Kim Geon-hee in this Assembly, which also fall under the jurisdiction of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee.

The People Power Party cannot help but feel uncomfortable with the Democratic Party, which covets the positions of Speaker, Chairperson of the Steering Committee, and Chairperson of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee simultaneously. Kim Do-eup, Chairperson of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, expressed discomfort, saying, "The Speaker and the Chairperson of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee cannot both be taken by the Democratic Party." This is why concerns about a 'business suspension' due to difficulties in leadership formation are emerging more than a month before the opening of the 22nd National Assembly.

Delays in leadership formation due to failure to finalize negotiations over the distribution of standing committee chairpersons between the ruling and opposition parties have been repeated every time. The People Power Party's predecessor, the Grand National Party, which criticizes the Democratic Party's greed for standing committees, also argued during the 18th National Assembly that "the party with the majority of seats should take all standing committee chairperson positions" (Joo Ho-young, then leader of the Grand National Party). According to National Assembly customs, the Chairperson of the Steering Committee is usually from the largest party in the Assembly, and the Chairperson of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee is from the second-largest party.

The average time taken for leadership formation from the 14th to the 21st National Assembly was 45 days. This means that the Assembly was effectively in a business suspension state for over a month. The longest delayed convening on record was during the first half of the 14th National Assembly, which took 125 days to form the leadership. Although the term began on May 30, 1992, the selection of standing committee chairpersons was only completed in October of the same year, four months later. The first half of the 18th National Assembly also experienced difficulties in leadership formation, remaining in a deadlock for 88 days.

The 21st National Assembly, both in its first and second halves, took 47 days and 53 days respectively to form the leadership. The first half of the Assembly began its temporary session on May 30, 2020, but due to failed negotiations over the Chairpersonship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and others, the delayed opening ceremony was held only on July 16 of the same year. The second half of the Assembly reached a dramatic agreement only on July 22, 2022, 53 days after the first half concluded.

The National Assembly Act stipulates that the first session must be held within 7 days from the start of the term to elect the Speaker and Deputy Speaker, and within 3 days thereafter, the standing committee chairpersons must be elected to complete the leadership formation. The first plenary session of the 22nd National Assembly, which begins its term on May 30, must be held within 7 days from the start of the term (by June 7).