Ruling "Prior Agreement Between Ruling and Opposition" vs Opposition "Ignoring the National Assembly"
Ministers Attend High-Level Talks Held in Seoul
Government Questioning Scheduled to Begin at 7 PM
The National Assembly's government questioning session on diplomacy, unification, and security scheduled for the 10th will be held five hours later than planned. The start time of the session was postponed due to a clash between the ruling and opposition parties over the absence notifications from Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yeol and Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun. The People Power Party stated that they presented legitimate reasons for absence and that both parties agreed on the matter. The Democratic Party of Korea countered, calling it a trick to avoid the government questioning.
According to the People Power Party and the Democratic Party of Korea, the National Assembly government questioning session originally scheduled for 2 p.m. will now convene at 7 p.m., five hours later. The ruling and opposition parties argued over the absence of Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yeol and Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun from the session.
The People Power Party's position is that Ministers Cho and Kim presented legitimate reasons for absence, such as attending the '2024 High-Level Meeting on the Responsible Military Use of Artificial Intelligence (REAIM High-Level Meeting)' held in Seoul on the 9th of this month, and obtained approval from both parties.
The People Power Party's floor administration office announced, "In the case of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on August 30, they requested understanding from both the Democratic Party and the People Power Party for deputy attendance of cabinet members," adding, "The Democratic Party stamped the confirmation letter for deputy attendance with the floor leader's seal on September 3 and delivered it to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the People Power Party also stamped the confirmation letter with the floor leader's seal to approve the deputy attendance." The People Power Party further explained that the Ministry of National Defense also communicated the situation regarding deputy attendance of cabinet members to both parties on the 5th, and the floor leaders of both parties stamped the letter the day before.
Floor leader Choo Kyung-ho told reporters after the floor strategy meeting, "The attendance of cabinet members at the government questioning was decided early through the plenary session, and if there are unavoidable reasons, absence is allowed with the approval and consent of the negotiating groups of both parties," adding, "I understand that it became difficult to attend due to an international event, and the absence was approved by both parties and the Speaker of the National Assembly."
Cho Kuk, leader of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, is delivering a speech as the representative of a non-negotiating group at the plenary session held at the National Assembly on the 9th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@
On the other hand, the opposition strongly opposed the two ministers' absence from the National Assembly. Park Chan-dae, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, protested, saying, "Cabinet members are openly ignoring the National Assembly by following President Yoon Suk-yeol."
At the floor strategy meeting that day, Park said, "This is an act that directly challenges the constitutional spirit of the separation of powers and destroys democracy," and warned, "If they insist on absence, we will definitely hold them accountable."
He also claimed that the reasons given by the two ministers for absence, such as commemorative photos, keynote speeches, discussions, and dinners, were the main activities, and that essential bilateral meetings requiring ministerial attendance were scheduled for late hours, arguing that partial attendance was just an excuse to avoid attending the National Assembly.
Democratic Party and Justice Party lawmakers scheduled to question during the government questioning also issued a statement, raising their voices that "holding government questioning on diplomacy, unification, and security without the Foreign and Defense Ministers is a contempt of the National Assembly."
They emphasized that the government questioning plan and the request for the attendance of the Prime Minister and related ministers were matters jointly passed by both parties at the plenary session on the 2nd, urging attendance at the National Assembly.
Later, Roh Jong-myeon, floor spokesperson for the Democratic Party, met with reporters after a party meeting at the National Assembly and said regarding the two ministers' notification of absence from the 2 p.m. government questioning, "This is understood as the trend of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration regarding government officials' absence from National Assembly schedules, so we believe it is necessary to postpone or adjust the time of the government questioning," adding, "Minister Cho is scheduled to attend the government questioning at 7 p.m., and Minister Kim at 9 p.m., as adjusted."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
