Minjoo to Unilaterally Elect 11 Standing Committee Chairs... Gyo Kyung-tae of the Ruling Party Calls It "Anti-People"

Minju Expected to Force Plenary Session for Committee Formation
Gukim Criticizes as "Legislative Dictatorship"... Boycott

The ruling and opposition parties are showing extreme confrontation over the distribution of standing committee chairmanships. The Democratic Party of Korea is expected to hold a plenary session of the National Assembly alone on the 10th to elect chairpersons of 11 standing committees, including the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the Steering Committee. The People Power Party plans to 'completely boycott' the plenary session and negotiations for the organization of the Assembly, forecasting repeated disruptions in the 22nd National Assembly for some time.

One-way traffic sign on the road in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

On the morning of the same day, Rep. Cho Kyung-tae of the People Power Party expressed in an interview with KBS Radio's 'Jeonggyeok Sisa' that he is "deeply regretful about the Democratic Party showing the tyranny of the majority within the National Assembly."

Rep. Cho said, "The Democratic Party talks about democracy where the majority considers the minority and implements various policies for the minority, and even their party name is the Democratic Party, but I find it truly disheartening that they are practicing dictatorship in the Assembly," adding, "Whether in favor or opposition, the spirit of the National Assembly and parliamentary democracy is to achieve things through cooperation and consensus, but the Democratic Party has failed in this regard."

He stated, "Laws must always be based on validity and effectiveness, so it is a principle that the ruling and opposition parties agree to process bills," and added, "Otherwise, the majority party will legislate at will again, and the president will exercise veto power, repeating a vicious cycle."

He continued, "In the end, the people bear the brunt of this, so the Democratic Party's current actions are ultimately anti-people and against the public interest," emphasizing, "I hope the Democratic Party returns to rational thinking."

Currently, the ruling and opposition parties are clashing over the chairmanships of the Legislation and Judiciary, Steering, and Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting and Communications Committees. The People Power Party insists on retaining the seven chairmanships it held in the first half of the 21st National Assembly, including these three, citing National Assembly precedents. The People Power Party has decided to boycott if the Democratic Party pushes ahead with the plenary session to elect standing committee chairpersons and has convened a party meeting at 3 p.m. that day.

On the other hand, the Democratic Party maintains that standing committees must be promptly activated considering the economic situation and political schedule.

Park Sung-jun, the Democratic Party's senior deputy floor leader, appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' that day, stating, "The most important duty as a member of the National Assembly is standing committee activities," and warned, "If People Power Party members do not attend and cause disruptions, they cannot escape political responsibility and burden."

He said, "The Democratic Party's basic position is to comply with the National Assembly Act, allocate 18 standing committees, and elect chairpersons as a principle," and "If the plenary session is held today and the 11 standing committee chairpersons announced last Friday are elected first, seven chairperson positions remain. Considering the current domestic economic and political situation, promptly handling this is to respect public sentiment, so the remaining seven should be elected within this week."

If 11 standing committee chairpersons are elected at the plenary session that day, regarding the commencement of standing committee activities afterward, he said, "If the chairpersons are elected today, standing committee activities can start immediately," adding, "Not only the 11 but also the remaining seven chairpersons' election is urgent due to pressing current issues, and for smooth state administration and checks and balances, it should not be delayed beyond this week."

He further said, "To resolve issues related to the special prosecutor law for Chae Hae-byeong and the three broadcasting laws, which the Democratic Party prioritized, standing committee chairpersons must be elected and committees activated," adding, "If the standing committee chairpersons are elected and committees activated today, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee will handle the special prosecutor law for Chae Hae-byeong, and the Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting and Communications Committee will handle the three broadcasting laws, respectively."