Joguk Innovation Party "Let's Lower the Negotiation Group Standard to 10 Seats"

Proposal of Four Political Innovation Bills... Focused on Expanding Minor Parties' Authority
Jokuk "Must Reflect Public Opinion Excluded by Major Two-Party Politics"

The Joguk Innovation Party has submitted a bill to change the requirement for forming a negotiation group in the National Assembly from 20 members to 10 members. A 'negotiation group (交涉團體)' is a group of lawmakers formed to facilitate more efficient operation of the National Assembly by coordinating the progress of proceedings and important matters. Under current law, the threshold is set at 20 members, so only the two major parties, the Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party, form negotiation groups.

On the morning of the 30th, Joguk, the leader of the Joguk Innovation Party, held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office and stated, "We will amend the National Assembly Act to lower the barrier for the conditions of negotiation groups." He added, "Although the Joguk Innovation Party holds 12 seats, it is treated as having zero seats in the operation of the National Assembly." He continued, "The increase of the negotiation group seat requirement from 10 to 20 seats was made by the Park Chung-hee regime in 1971," and argued, "Limiting the number of negotiation groups makes it easier to control the legislative branch." Furthermore, he said, "We must accept the public will that reflects the spirit of the times through the participation of various political parties."

On the morning of the 30th, Jo Guk, leader of the Jo Guk Innovation Party, and members of the Jo Guk Innovation Party held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Hall to announce the proposal of the "Four Political Innovation Bills Reflecting Public Sentiment." To the left of Leader Jo is Jeong Chun-saeng, the senior deputy floor leader, who submitted the bill to "ease the requirements for forming a negotiation group." [Image source=Yonhap News]

Jeong Chunsang, the senior deputy floor leader, said, "Therefore, the Joguk Innovation Party is submitting a bill to change the requirement for forming a negotiation group from 20 members to 10 members," emphasizing, "This is not just to pursue the interests of the Joguk Innovation Party, but to amend the law to allow more diverse parties to emerge in the future." He stated, "Since the 16th National Assembly in South Korea, a bill to lower the number of members required for negotiation groups has been proposed 16 times," and added, "Relaxing the requirements for forming negotiation groups is the best reform and innovation for reflecting public opinion." If the amendment to the National Assembly Act passes, the Joguk Innovation Party, which holds 12 seats, will be able to form a negotiation group on its own.

After the press conference, Jeong met with reporters and mentioned 'consultation with the Speaker of the National Assembly.' He said, "I understand that Speaker Woo Won-shik is very positive about easing the standards for negotiation groups," and added, "We are thinking of pressuring (other parties) through consultations with the Speaker's office."

Hwang Unha, the floor leader, said, "The Democratic Party has never expressed opposition to the content of this political reform law," and added, "Since Democratic Party lawmakers have previously legislated on this matter, there is no reason to oppose it." He also said, "We will meet with the Speaker of the National Assembly and the floor leaders of the two major parties in the future."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On this day, the Joguk Innovation Party also pointed out that party subsidies are distributed mainly to negotiation groups, that non-negotiation groups are not allocated policy research committee members, and that non-negotiation group members are restricted from participating in the Intelligence Committee. They proposed a method of distributing party subsidies according to the number of seats. They also submitted an amendment to the National Assembly Act to allocate policy research committee members to all parties in the National Assembly, including non-negotiation groups, and to allow non-negotiation group members to participate in the Intelligence Committee.