[National Assembly Research Groups] ① A Closer Look at 67 Groups Joined by Members of the National Assembly...

People Power Party Focuses on Veterans, Democratic Party Centers on 'Lee Jae-myung'
Decrease in Social and Cultural Topics, Increase in Economy and Industry Compared to 21st
Research Groups Exclude Lee Jae-myung, Han Ki-ho... "Dislike Factions"

Editor's NoteAs of October 10, 67 parliamentary research groups have been formed in the 22nd National Assembly. Research groups led by People Power Party members have been formed mainly around senior lawmakers. Research groups led by Democratic Party members have been formed around 'Lee Jae-myung's policies.' Seven lawmakers did not join any research group. The status of parliamentary research groups was analyzed in three parts. ①Taking a closer look at parliamentary research groups...

According to the National Assembly on the 10th, out of 300 members of the 22nd National Assembly, 198 have joined three research groups. Lawmakers can join up to three research groups. Seventy-seven lawmakers joined two research groups, and 18 joined only one. They choose to join from among the 67 research groups registered with the National Assembly. There are 33 groups led by opposition party lawmakers, 14 groups led by ruling party lawmakers, and the remaining 20 groups are co-led by lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 9th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Research groups led by Democratic Party lawmakers are analyzed to have been formed mainly to study policies promoted by Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party leader. Groups researching Lee's representative policy of 'Basic Society' include the 'Basic Income Research Forum' led by lawmaker So Byung-hoon and the 'Basic Society Research Forum' led by lawmaker Park Joo-min. Both research groups include Yong Hye-in, a lawmaker from the Basic Income Party, as a research responsible member. Lawmaker Yong was elected through proportional representation via the Democratic Party's satellite proportional party, the Democratic United Party, in the 22nd general election.

They are also researching strengthening party membership rights, a policy promoted by Lee. The 'Future Party Innovation Research Group,' led by Kim Yong-min, the Democratic Party's floor policy chief deputy representative, who is classified as a pro-Lee Jae-myung faction lawmaker, studies ways to activate political participation by the people and innovate party politics. At the inaugural general meeting of the Future Party Innovation Research Group on August 26, Kim said, "The Democratic Party has about 2.55 million members who have paid party dues at least once, making it a party rarely seen worldwide," and added, "The point to consider in party politics is to harmonize the strengthening of party democracy with the desire for direct democracy."

There are also research groups formed by lawmakers who were close to Lee in the past. The 'Parliamentary Democracy Forum Opening the Future' includes Democratic Party lawmakers Jeong Seong-ho and Kim Young-jin, who are considered original pro-Lee Jae-myung faction members. However, they emphasize parliamentary democracy. At the first seminar of the Parliamentary Democracy Forum Opening the Future in July, Park Sang-hoon, a former invited research fellow at the National Assembly Future Institute, urged, "Respond confidently to power-driven fandom members," and said, "I hope you are not intimidated by claims of direct democracy, popular sovereignty democracy, or citizen direct participation democracy."

In the ruling party, research groups are formed mainly around senior lawmakers. The group with the most participants is 'National Assembly Population, Climate, and Tomorrow,' led by five-term People Power Party lawmaker Na Kyung-won, with a total of 30 lawmakers participating. Among them, 29 are members of the People Power Party. Only Democratic Party lawmaker Lee In-young participates as a member allocated to another party by regulation.

Research groups co-led by lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties deal with non-contentious issues such as climate change, low birthrate, and secondary batteries. The 'Unicorn Farm,' which researches startups and venture companies, has 13 members: 8 from the Democratic Party, 4 from the People Power Party, and 1 from the Innovation Party for Justice. Unicorn Farm was created in November 2022 during the 21st National Assembly with the awareness that bipartisan cooperation is necessary to study regulatory innovation for startup growth.

Compared to the 21st National Assembly, research groups in the 22nd National Assembly have decreased in social and cultural fields but increased in economic and industrial fields. There were 22 economic and industrial research groups in the 21st National Assembly, but 26 in the 22nd. Meanwhile, social and cultural research groups decreased by six, with 16 operating in the current assembly. Newly established research groups also focus on economic and industrial fields. Of the 46 research groups newly established in the 22nd National Assembly, 20 are in economic and industrial fields, 16 in political and industrial fields, and 10 in social and cultural fields. Recently, social interest has concentrated on artificial intelligence, climate crisis, and semiconductors, leading both ruling and opposition parties to create many related research groups.

Choo Kyung-ho focuses on 'Low Birthrate,' Park Chan-dae on 'Taxation'... Lee Jae-myung Does Not Join Any Research Group

Key figures from each party have also joined research groups. Park Chan-dae, floor leader of the Democratic Party, serves as the representative lawmaker of the 'Tax, Fiscal, Monetary, and Financial Policy Research Group for Strengthening the Middle Class and Economic Growth.' This appears to be a research group run to leverage his accounting experience while supporting Lee's policies. Cho Guk, leader of the Innovation Party for Justice, is the representative lawmaker of the 'Forum for Advanced Social Rights Moving Toward an Innovative Welfare State.' Of the 12 members in this group, 10 are from the Innovation Party for Justice, effectively serving as an internal cohesion organization for the party.

Choo Kyung-ho, floor leader of the People Power Party, joined the '2040 Tailwind Forum,' led by People Power Party lawmaker Kim Jae-seop. The 2040 Tailwind Forum was created to overcome issues of non-marriage and low birthrate among the younger generation. Choo is interpreted to have joined the research group to support policies related to low birthrate. Lee Jun-seok, lawmaker of the Reform New Party, joined the 'National Assembly Media Development Forum 0503,' a research group related to the National Assembly Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee, which also includes Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Hyun, the opposition party's secretary-general, and committee chair Choi Min-hee. Lee also joined the 'Republic of Korea Future Innovation Forum,' led by People Power Party lawmaker Kim Ki-hyun, maintaining relations with ruling party lawmakers.

There are also lawmakers who did not participate in any research group. These include National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik, Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung and lawmaker Kim Yong-man, and People Power Party lawmakers Kang Seung-gyu, Song Eon-seok, Cho Jung-hoon, and Han Ki-ho, totaling seven. A representative from Lee's side explained, "He did not join any research group to avoid misinterpretation since he holds a leadership position." A representative from Han's side stated, "He did not participate in any research group because he did not want to appear affiliated with any particular faction."

Although not officially registered as a research group, there is a study group consisting of all 44 first-term ruling party lawmakers. This group was launched on June 24 with the goal of meeting on the fourth Monday of every month. At the first study meeting held in the National Assembly, the topic was Article 84 of the Constitution concerning the president's immunity from prosecution, discussing whether a trial is suspended if the defendant becomes president. This was aimed at Lee, who is facing judicial risks.