Ruling and Opposition Parties Fail Again in National Assembly Leadership Meeting Presided Over by Speaker

On the 25th, Remaining 7 Standing Committee Chairpersons Expected to be Elected in the Plenary Session

On the 21st, the floor leaders of the ruling and opposition parties met under the chairmanship of Speaker Woo Won-sik to discuss the formation of the 22nd National Assembly's first half leadership again, but they failed to reach an agreement. Following Speaker Woo's proposal, both parties agreed to make a final negotiation effort over the weekend.

After the meeting, People Power Party floor leader Choo Kyung-ho criticized, "The Democratic Party, as the major opposition, showed insincerity by immediately rejecting every concession proposal made by the ruling party." He also expressed strong regret toward Speaker Woo, saying, "He neither proposed a mediation plan nor made any mediation efforts."

Democratic Party floor leader Park Chan-dae stated, "We clearly shared the recognition that the formation of the leadership cannot be delayed," adding, "The Speaker set the negotiation deadline until the weekend."

Park further said, "The Speaker is determined to complete the opening of the June session by July 4," and added, "If the list is not submitted by midnight on June 24, it means the negotiations have broken down, and if it doesn't work out, we will proceed accordingly."

Speaker of the National Assembly Woo Won-shik (center) shakes hands with Park Chan-dae, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, during a meeting between the floor leaders of the two major parties for committee organization in the Speaker's office on the afternoon of the 21st. On the left is Choo Kyung-ho, floor leader of the People Power Party. Photo by Joint Press Corps

Earlier, Speaker Woo had notified both parties on the 19th to complete the leadership formation negotiations by the weekend.

The People Power Party is currently set to decide by the 24th whether to accept the Democratic Party's unilateral election of 11 standing committee chairs and the allocation of the remaining 7 standing committee chairs to the ruling party.

Accordingly, the submission of the list of standing committee chairs is expected on the 24th, followed by the plenary session and the election of the standing committee chairs on the 25th.