[One Month Since the 22nd National Assembly Convened]② Repeated Stalemates... Two Parliaments Without Practical Benefits

Opposition Dominates 11 Standing Committees Including Operations and Legislation
Minister Absent, Jeong Cheong-rae Says "Is This Disregard for the National Assembly?"
Ruling Party Feels Pressure as Legislative Hearings Begin
Returns to Standing Committees After 28 Days... Committee Formation Completed

Since the start of its term on May 30, the 22nd National Assembly engaged in fierce disputes over the organization of its committees. On June 10, the Democratic Party of Korea broke with tradition and unilaterally appointed chairpersons for 11 standing committees, including the Steering Committee and the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. In response, the People Power Party staged a 'standing committee boycott,' resulting in the effective operation of two separate parliaments for two weeks.

The Democratic Party asserted its 'priority right to chairmanships' based on its 192 seats in the 22nd National Assembly from the outset. They unilaterally elected four-term lawmaker Jeong Cheong-rae as chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, floor leader Park Chan-dae as chair of the Steering Committee, and lawmaker Choi Min-hee as chair of the Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee. The People Power Party demanded the return of at least the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, as it has been customary for the ruling party to hold the Speaker position and the second-largest party to chair the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, considered the upper house of standing committees. However, this was not accepted.

Speaker of the National Assembly Woo Won-sik (third from the left) is meeting with People Power Party Floor Leader Choo Kyung-ho and Democratic Party Floor Leader Park Chan-dae on the 17th at the National Assembly regarding the organization of the floor. From the left, People Power Party Deputy Floor Leader Bae Jun-young, Floor Leader Choo Kyung-ho, Speaker Woo Won-sik, Democratic Party Floor Leader Park Chan-dae, and Deputy Floor Leader Park Sung-jun. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

The day after the Democratic Party unilaterally appointed the standing committee chairs, the full meeting of the Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee was held on June 11. Subsequently, on June 12, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee convened, followed by the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, the Health and Welfare Committee, and the Public Administration and Security Committee on June 13, marking the start of the Democratic Party's dominance over the standing committees. The ruling party seats in the standing committees were appointed at the discretion of the Speaker. Bills related to public welfare were sidelined in favor of politically contentious legislation.

The absence of government ministers from standing committees also came under scrutiny. They refused to attend requests for presence, citing the committees as half-baked. When Minister of Justice Park Seong-jae was absent from the first full meeting of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, Chair Jeong Cheong-rae said, "Is this deference to the President, or does the Ministry of Justice not consider itself a department of the Republic of Korea government, or is this a disregard for the National Assembly by refusing to attend? I believe this will eventually come back as a self-inflicted consequence." This was both a warning to Minister Park and a message to the ruling party. On the same day, Chair Jeong referred the 'Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor Act' to a subcommittee, and the special prosecutor bill passed the Legislation and Judiciary Committee's full meeting on June 21 after a legislative hearing, without opposition debate from the ruling party.

The People Power Party responded by establishing its own special committees as a countermeasure. Starting with the Energy Special Committee on June 11, they activated 15 special committees including those on fiscal tax, labor, foreign affairs and security, disaster, and education to conduct legislative discussions. However, these party committees lacked legislative authority and were effectively limited to party-government consultations. Both inside and outside these special committees, there was consensus that standing committees were necessary for proposing and amending bills, as bills cannot be passed without them. Song Eon-seok, chair of the Fiscal Tax Special Committee, said at a press meeting after the June 18 session, "There are internal issues within our party, but there is also the opposition party. We need to review the discussions that took place with the Democratic Party during the 21st National Assembly." Kim Seong-won, chair of the Energy Special Committee, told reporters after finishing his schedule in Yongin on the same day, in response to questions about related bill processing, "Since standing committees need to operate, we have to see how the negotiations for committee organization proceed."

On June 19, the People Power Party proposed a final mediation plan to alternate the chairmanships of the Steering Committee and the Legislation and Judiciary Committee annually, but Democratic Party floor leader Park Chan-dae immediately rejected it, asking, "Will the President also take turns every year?" Although there was a sense that the remaining seven standing committees would be monopolized by the Democratic Party, the People Power Party suddenly declared its return to the standing committees. On June 24, immediately after a party meeting, People Power Party floor leader Chu Kyung-ho announced the election of seven standing committee chairs and the party's return to the committees. This decision was decisively influenced by the legislative hearings held just prior. To pressure the ruling party boycotting the committees, the Democratic Party unilaterally held a series of legislative hearings on June 21 for the 'Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor Act' and the 'Broadcasting 3+1 Act.' Ministers and government officials attended the hearings, and the ministers seated among the empty ruling party seats were helpless against the opposition's attacks.

Voices emerged that the 22nd National Assembly should be different from the 21st, which opened as an opposition-led parliament. A People Power Party official said, "The absence of ruling party lawmakers was strongly felt at the legislative hearings," adding, "After the hearings, the atmosphere in the Presidential Office also changed." In response, Floor Leader Chu decided to organize the committees and expressed his intention to resign from his position. On June 27, just 28 days after the opening, the vice speaker from the ruling party and seven standing committee chairs from the People Power Party were elected, finally completing the organization of the 22nd National Assembly.