The First Government Questioning of the 22nd Session Ends in Deadlock... Remaining Schedule Also Uncertain

Kim Byung-joo's "Crazy People Power Party Lawmaker" Remark Sparks Controversy
Speaker's Office: "Automatic Adjournment After Midnight"
Tomorrow (3rd) Legislative Schedule to Be Reconsidered from Scratch

The first government questioning session of the 22nd National Assembly ultimately ended in disruption. Kim Byung-joo, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, took issue with the term 'Han-Mi-Il Alliance' used in a People Power Party statement last month, calling them "insane People Power Party lawmakers," which led People Power Party members to shout "Apologize" at Kim. As a result, the questioning on political, diplomatic, unification, and security issues on the first day was not completed, causing setbacks to the scheduled government questioning sessions on economic, education, social, and cultural issues.

On the afternoon of the 2nd, around 3 p.m., the National Assembly held a plenary session to conduct government questioning on political, diplomatic, unification, and security matters. The session was rocky from the start. The plenary session, originally scheduled for 2 p.m., was delayed until around 3 p.m. due to a People Power Party caucus meeting. The People Power Party also staged a sit-in protest opposing the agenda item of the 'Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor Act' before the session began. The government questioning that started this way ended again around 6 p.m., with only 5 out of 11 questioning lawmakers having asked questions.

Park Beom-gye, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is questioning Park Seong-jae, Minister of Justice, during the plenary session held at the National Assembly on the 2nd. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Kim, the fifth questioning lawmaker, criticized Prime Minister Han Duck-soo during his questioning, saying, "On the 2nd of last month, the People Power Party said that North Korea's continuous lowly provocations would strengthen the 'Han-Mi-Il Alliance'." He added, "Japan is a country with ambitions over Dokdo, so how does the People Power Party think it can form an alliance with Japan?" He then made strong remarks, saying, "The insane People Power Party lawmakers said 'Han-Mi-Il Alliance,'" "They are way out of their minds," and "They are crazy."

In response, People Power Party lawmakers strongly opposed him. About a dozen People Power Party members, including Kwon Seong-dong, came up to the podium demanding an apology from Kim, and Democratic Party members also came forward, escalating the commotion. Consequently, National Assembly Deputy Speaker Joo Ho-young declared a recess around 6 p.m. After more than three hours of disorder, the Speaker's office judged that "it is difficult to resume the session." Since members cannot reconvene for the Speaker to declare a resumption, the session will automatically adjourn after midnight.

The Democratic Party countered, saying, "The side that should apologize is the People Power Party." Yoon Jong-gun, the party's floor spokesperson, stated at a press conference at 7:40 p.m., "It is the People Power Party that should apologize to the public," adding, "While the Korea-US alliance exists, there is no Han-Mi-Il Alliance or Korea-Japan alliance." Kang Yoo-jung, another floor spokesperson, claimed in a written statement, "The People Power Party disrupted Kim's legitimate questioning that 'there is no Han-Mi-Il Alliance' with jeers and shouts and even used it as a pretext to disrupt the plenary session." Kim said, "Should I apologize for Korea and Japan forming an alliance? I cannot and should not."

Due to the failure to complete the government questioning schedule that day, the plenary session vote on the Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor Act and the economic government questioning scheduled for the next day also fell into uncertainty. A National Assembly Speaker's office official said, "The parliamentary schedule for the 3rd must be completely reorganized."