National Assembly to Establish Climate Special Committee... "Final Decision After Gathering Opinions from Both Ruling and Opposition Parties"

Meeting of National Assembly Speaker and Ruling and Opposition Floor Leaders
Few Disagreements on Climate, Political Reform, and Ethics Special Committees
'Empty-Handed' on Ruling-Opposition-Parliament-Government Consultative Body

At a meeting of floor leaders of the ruling and opposition parties chaired by National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik, it was agreed to establish a Special Committee on Climate Crisis Response (tentatively named Climate Special Committee) within the National Assembly. The ruling and opposition parties also announced plans to establish a Special Committee on Political Reform (Political Reform Special Committee) among others.

Park Chan-dae, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, told reporters after the meeting held at the National Assembly on the 9th, "Ahead of Chuseok, we discussed with the Speaker the special committees to be formed in the future," adding, "The committees we agreed to form together are the Climate Special Committee, the Political Reform Special Committee, and the Ethics Special Committee." He also said, "Other committees such as the Population Special Committee, the Pension Special Committee, and the Local Extinction Special Committee will be discussed further."

On the 9th, the floor leaders of the ruling and opposition parties met at the Speaker's office in the National Assembly. From the left, Bae Jun-young, Chief Deputy Floor Leader of the People Power Party, Choo Kyung-ho, Floor Leader, Woo Won-shik, Speaker of the National Assembly, Park Chan-dae, Floor Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Park Sung-joon, Chief Deputy Floor Leader. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

The Climate Special Committee is an issue that Speaker Woo has repeatedly emphasized. On the 2nd, through his inaugural address for the 22nd National Assembly, Woo proposed, "Let us establish the National Assembly Climate Special Committee without delay," and suggested, "Grant the committee the authority to review bills and deliberate on budgets and final accounts." Furthermore, on the 4th, he held the 'Unveiling Ceremony of the National Assembly Climate Crisis Clock' and stressed, "Responding to the climate crisis is not a choice but an unavoidable issue."

The ruling and opposition parties have also tentatively agreed to form the Political Reform Special Committee, which is customarily established around the opening of the National Assembly. Once formed, the committee is expected to address issues including the revival of local party branches, which is narrowing differences between the parties, easing the criteria for negotiation groups, and revising election laws.

However, regarding the consultative body among the ruling party, opposition party, medical community, and government, known as a measure to alleviate the medical crisis, no concrete results were achieved. On the same day, Choo Kyung-ho, floor leader of the People Power Party, said, "(The Democratic Party) expressed hope that the government and ruling party would actively engage in dialogue to encourage participation from the medical community, and we are currently making efforts and will continue to do so." He added, "I understand that the government is or will be contacting the medical community in various ways," and "The ruling party is also making attempts."