With "Yeo's 'Lawmakers and Operations Committee Takeover' Greed"... Refusal to Negotiate Parliamentary Organization

Criticism of 'Exclusive Distribution by Standing Committee'

The People Power Party repeatedly criticized the Democratic Party of Korea for unilaterally initiating the distribution process of standing committees in the 22nd National Assembly and maintained its refusal to negotiate the organization of the National Assembly. They also stated that if the Democratic Party does not change its stance on securing the chairmanships of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the Steering Committee, no agreement can be reached between the ruling and opposition parties.

According to Yonhap News Agency, a key lawmaker from the ruling party said on the 8th, "The Democratic Party must relinquish the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the Steering Committee for dialogue to be possible," adding, "If the Democratic Party does not change its position, there is no reason to meet."

Jang Dong-hyuk, the chief floor spokesperson for the People Power Party, urged in a statement, "If the Democratic Party and its leader Lee Jae-myung truly intend to work, they should stop their greed now and return the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the Steering Committee to their rightful places," emphasizing, "They must uphold the principle of checks and balances as stipulated by the National Assembly Act and engage in a proper agreement on the organization of the National Assembly."

The People Power Party plans to abstain from voting if the Democratic Party attempts to unilaterally process the agenda to elect the chairpersons of 11 standing committees, including the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the Steering Committee, at the plenary session on the 10th. They also stated that if the Democratic Party proceeds unilaterally, they will not participate in future negotiations regarding the distribution of seven standing committees.

In response to the Democratic Party's criticism that the organization of the National Assembly should be finalized to address livelihood issues and normalize the National Assembly's operations, the People Power Party rebutted, calling it "lip service." Chief floor spokesperson Jang said, "At first glance, it sounds like they want to create a National Assembly that works by following the law, but that is not their true intention," stressing, "Looking back at the behavior of the opposition party in the 21st National Assembly, it is clear what they mean by 'following the law' and what they intend to do."

He added, "Over the past four years, the Democratic Party has shown a pattern of parliamentary violence through trick legislation and illegal methods. All they have done is create various bad laws that only increased the president's veto power," and continued, "If they are only going to provoke political strife according to their own rules, what is the point of forcibly opening the National Assembly?"