Election of National Assembly Deputy Speaker and 7 Standing Committee Chairs... Completion of Assembly Formation 28 Days After Opening (Comprehensive)

On the 27th, the National Assembly elected Representative Joo Ho-young, a six-term lawmaker, as the Deputy Speaker of the 22nd National Assembly for the first half of the term, representing the People Power Party. Along with the Speaker of the National Assembly and the chairpersons of the committees reserved for the opposition party, the Democratic Party, including the Chairpersons of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, Planning and Finance Committee, Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, National Defense Committee, Industry, Trade, Energy, Small and Medium Venture Business Committee, Intelligence Committee, and Women and Family Committee, were also elected, completing the organization of the 22nd National Assembly.

On the 27th, during the plenary session, the National Assembly elected Representative Joo as Deputy Speaker with 269 votes in favor out of 283 members present in the 'Deputy Speaker Election.'

Joo Ho-young, a member of the People Power Party, is greeting Park Chan-dae, acting party leader and floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, at the plenary session held at the National Assembly on the 27th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Immediately after his election, Deputy Speaker Joo stated in his acceptance speech, "Concerns and worries among the public are growing regarding whether procedural democracy as well as substantive democracy are being implemented, whether urgent livelihood issues are being properly addressed, whether meticulous national strategies are being developed amid the severe international security environment and fierce technological hegemony competition, whether the speed and quality of legislation are reliable, and whether the conduct of lawmakers is dignified."

He continued, "There are predictions that the environment of the 22nd National Assembly will be more challenging than ever with many confrontational situations," adding, "There is nothing that cannot be resolved through dialogue, listening, and discussion. I hope we can dispel public concerns and advance toward advanced politics by empathizing with each other, making concessions, and compromising."

He also reiterated the importance of devotion to the people over party interests. Deputy Speaker Joo emphasized, "It was once said that the world belongs to the public (天下爲公), meaning that the world is not for private interests but for the entire people," and urged, "Let us abandon selfish desires and do our best as constitutional institutions solely for the Republic of Korea and all its people."

Born in 1960 in Uljin, Gyeongbuk, Deputy Speaker Joo is a graduate of the 14th Judicial Research and Training Institute and served as a judge. He concluded his 19-year judicial career in 2003 as a presiding judge at the Daegu District Court. In 2004, he ran as a candidate for the Grand National Party in Suseong-gu Eul, Daegu, and was elected to the 17th National Assembly. He was consecutively elected from Suseong-gu Eul from the 17th to the 20th National Assembly and from Suseong-gu Gap in the 21st and 22nd National Assembly, becoming the longest-serving six-term lawmaker in his party. He is known for his rational personality and is classified as a moderate conservative. Notably, in the 21st National Assembly, he served twice as floor leader and also as emergency committee chairman, contributing to stabilizing and leading the party during crises.

Following the election of the Deputy Speaker, votes were held for the remaining seven standing committee chair positions, completing the composition of all standing committee chairs 28 days after the opening of the 22nd National Assembly. The standing committee chairs were confirmed as follows: ▲ Yoon Han-hong for the Legislation and Judiciary Committee ▲ Song Eon-seok for the Planning and Finance Committee ▲ Kim Seok-ki for the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee ▲ Sung Il-jong for the National Defense Committee ▲ Lee Cheol-gyu for the Industry, Trade, Energy, Small and Medium Venture Business Committee ▲ Shin Sung-beom for the Intelligence Committee ▲ Lee In-seon for the Women and Family Committee. The appointment approval for former lawmaker Kim Min-gi as Secretary-General of the National Assembly also passed the plenary session.

The 22nd National Assembly opened on the 30th of last month, but the opposition parties, including the Democratic Party, declared a boycott of the National Assembly after unilaterally electing Woo Won-shik as Speaker, Lee Hak-young as Deputy Speaker for the Democratic Party, and chairpersons for 11 standing committees including the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, Steering Committee, and Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting and Communications Committee, causing a deadlock.

The National Assembly plans to hold the first government questioning session of the 22nd Assembly from the 2nd to the 4th of next month. On the 5th, when the extraordinary session begins, the opening ceremony of the National Assembly will be held, followed by the Democratic Party and People Power Party negotiating group leaders’ speeches on the 8th and 9th, respectively.

On the 27th, the 3rd plenary session of the 415th National Assembly (extraordinary session) is being held at the National Assembly. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@