Speaker Woo Won-sik convenes floor leaders of both parties
Park Chan-dae: "Colluding with traitor Yoon Seok-yeol"
Kwon Seong-dong: "Lee Jae-myung abuses legislative power in crime"
Regarding schedule for confirmation hearings of 3 Constitutional Court justices
"If People Power Party doesn't come, Democratic Party will proceed with 2 seats"
"Constitutional Court says 6-member judgment is possible"
Divided opinions on formation of internal rebellion state investigation
"Procedures such as formation and duration must be promptly finalized"
On the 17th, under the chairmanship of National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik, the floor leaders of the People Power Party and the Democratic Party of Korea held their first meeting.
Speaker Woo stated that he convened the floor leaders of both parties for cooperation, but Park Chan-dae, floor leader of the Democratic Party, and Kwon Seong-dong, acting party leader and floor leader of the People Power Party, exchanged sharp remarks and engaged in a tense confrontation.
After the meeting shifted to a closed session, loud voices were exchanged between the floor leaders of both parties, and no agreement was reached on the appointment hearings for constitutional court justices and the formation of a special committee for the investigation of the insurrection.
Park Chan-dae "Sympathizing with the Insurrection Leader"... Kwon Seong-dong "Lee Jae-myung's Crime and Abuse of Legislative Power"
Woo Won-shik, Speaker of the National Assembly (center), Kwon Seong-dong, Acting Leader and Floor Leader of the People Power Party (left), and Park Chan-dae, Floor Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, are taking a commemorative photo at the meeting of floor leaders of the ruling and opposition parties chaired by the Speaker of the National Assembly on the 17th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min
Floor leader Park pressured acting leader Kwon at the National Assembly Speaker's office in the afternoon, urging cooperation in forming and initiating the special committee for the investigation of the insurrection, saying, "The People Power Party, which sympathized with President Yoon Seok-youl, the ringleader of the insurrection, must take any step to atone before the people." He also pointed out that the emergency martial law situation caused damage across a wide range of areas including the economy, diplomacy and security, national prestige, and people's livelihood and economy, demanding the swift initiation of the special committee for the insurrection investigation, formation of the constitutional court justice appointment hearing committee, cessation of pressure on cabinet members, participation in the national stability consultation body, preparation of supplementary budgets, and activation of all standing committees.
Park emphasized, "The people are suffering due to the insurrection caused by the president," and urged, "The National Assembly, as the representative of the people, must responsibly manage this situation and work towards national stability and recovery of people's livelihood. We hope the People Power Party will actively cooperate."
In response, acting leader Kwon retorted, "Before the president's impeachment, the opposition Democratic Party abused the National Assembly's legislative power to cover up crimes of leader Lee Jae-myung by repeatedly pushing impeachment motions and special investigations, and unilaterally cutting the budget. If that had not happened, Korea would have been a much more beautiful country, a place where dialogue works, and a country of coexistence."
He also protested, saying, "Since I was elected floor leader, I proposed a meeting to Democratic Party floor leader Park Chan-dae, but it was rejected. Considering that the ruling and opposition floor leaders responded to the National Assembly meeting today, I cannot help but ask if they have recognized me as a negotiation partner."
On the same day, regarding the possibility of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, acting president and prime minister, appointing constitutional court justices, which sparked a verbal dispute between the People Power Party and the Democratic Party, Park was pressured. Acting leader Kwon said, "Eight years ago, during the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye, Democratic Party leader Chu Mi-ae and floor leader Woo Sang-ho argued that the acting president could not appoint constitutional court justices. I cannot understand how the logic that it was allowed then but not now holds."
Woo Won-sik "The National Assembly Must Take Care of People's Livelihood" but Loud Voices Exchanged at Floor Leaders' Meeting
Woo Won-sik, Speaker of the National Assembly (center), Kwon Seong-dong, Acting Leader of the People Power Party and Floor Leader (second from left), and Park Chan-dae, Floor Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea (second from right), are holding a meeting of floor leaders of the ruling and opposition parties chaired by the Speaker of the National Assembly on the 17th at the National Assembly. Photo by Kim Hyun-min
Speaker Woo urged the floor leaders of both parties, saying, "Although this is a very unfortunate national event, it is the result of the people's will. Now, our National Assembly must focus all efforts on managing this situation and stabilizing the government. Just as the center of governance is the National Assembly, the center of the National Assembly must be the people. People's livelihood must be prioritized."
He also requested cooperation between the People Power Party and the Democratic Party regarding the schedule for the constitutional court justice appointment hearings and the formation of the special committee for the emergency martial law investigation.
However, during the 40-minute closed meeting, it was reported that the floor leaders exchanged loud voices. Park Hyung-soo, chief deputy floor leader of the People Power Party, and Park Sung-jun, chief deputy floor leader of the Democratic Party, told reporters, "There was considerable loudness exchanged," describing the atmosphere.
Floor leader Park conveyed to acting leader Kwon that the Democratic Party plans to hold appointment hearings for the three constitutional court justice candidates allocated to the National Assembly on the 23rd and 24th, and to submit the appointment consent bill to the plenary session on the 27th for a vote. On the other hand, acting leader Kwon repeated the claim that the acting president cannot appoint constitutional court justices and therefore cannot agree to the appointment hearings. The People Power Party also stated that the plenary session on the 27th must be reconsidered based on the appointment hearings.
Chief deputy floor leader Park Sung-jun said, "If the People Power Party does not attend the appointment hearings, we will proceed immediately with the two candidates allocated to the Democratic Party," and pointed out, "This issue has been handled previously with former floor leader Chu Kyung-ho and former chief deputy floor leader Bae Jun-young, so it should naturally be processed."
Conversely, chief deputy floor leader Park Hyung-soo countered, "The Constitutional Court said that rulings are possible with six justices. The court set the schedule based on that premise. In a six-member system, all six must agree, but we suspect the Democratic Party is trying to add two more members to make the vote favorable."
There was also disagreement over the 'insurrection investigation' proposed by Speaker Woo Won-sik. The Democratic Party expressed willingness to follow Speaker Woo's proposal to promptly finalize the formation, activity period, and investigation scope of the special committee. Deputy floor leader Park Sung-jun emphasized, "Speaker Woo requested submission of the list by the 20th. We have a strong stance to conduct the national investigation."
However, the People Power Party expressed a negative stance, saying that the efficiency of the national investigation is reduced due to refusals to appear and testify while the investigation is already ongoing. Deputy floor leader Park Hyung-soo said, "The investigation is ongoing, and in such cases, many will refuse to appear or refuse to testify even if they do, so the basic stance is that it will not be effective," adding, "We will gather our party's consensus through a members' meeting tomorrow and then negotiate again regarding participation."
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