Acting Chief Choi Sang-mok Meets with Ruling and Opposition Leaders to Set Major Direction
Agreement Reached on Forming Committee for Aircraft Accident Measures
Political Issues Like Constitutional Court Justice Appointments Not Addressed
Speaker of the National Assembly Woo Won-sik and the leaders of the ruling and opposition parties agreed to form a parliamentary-government consultative body involving both parties and the government to address the economy, which has worsened since the declaration of emergency martial law. On the 29th, they also agreed to establish a parliamentary task force in response to the recent aircraft accident. Although there were discussions on the supplementary budget, political issues with significant differences between the parties, such as the appointment of constitutional court justices and the dual special prosecution law (for the internal rebellion special prosecution and Kim Geon-hee special prosecution), were not discussed.
On the 31st, Speaker Woo, Kwon Young-se, Chairman of the People Power Party Emergency Response Committee, and Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, met at the National Assembly to discuss solutions for the political situation.
After the discussion, Shin Dong-wook, chief spokesperson for the People Power Party, stated, "There was a discussion on measures regarding the recent aircraft disaster, and the formation of a bipartisan consultative body to address livelihood issues."
Kwon Young-se, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party (from left), Woo Won-shik, Speaker of the National Assembly, and Lee Jae-myung, Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, are taking a commemorative photo before their meeting on the afternoon of the 31st at the Speaker's Office in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News
They also decided to activate a National Assembly-government consultative body to handle livelihood issues. Chief Spokesperson Shin said, "Due to recent circumstances, practical consultations had not progressed, but both parties agreed to form a consultative body involving the Speaker's office, both parties, and the government as soon as possible to promptly stabilize state affairs across all fields including diplomacy, security, trade, livelihood, and the economy." He added, "The Speaker of the National Assembly, the leaders of the ruling and opposition parties, and the acting president will outline the main framework, while the floor leaders of both parties will meet to discuss the details, agreeing to work together as much as possible early in the year to stabilize livelihoods."
The task force related to the aircraft accident will be operated by Kim Min-ki, Secretary General of the National Assembly; Joo Cheol-hyun, chairman of the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee from the Democratic Party; and Kwon Young-jin, a member of the People Power Party who leads the task force for managing the Muan Airport accident. Cho Seung-rae, chief spokesperson for the Democratic Party, explained, "There was a proposal that systematic and integrated support at the parliamentary level is necessary rather than each party providing separate support, and Speaker Woo and the party leaders agreed."
During the dialogue between the party leaders, discussions on the supplementary budget also took place. Chief Spokesperson Cho said, "There was talk about the supplementary budget during the conversation," adding, "Leader Lee proposed the supplementary budget, and Chairman Kwon said it would be discussed within the party."
It is known that there were no political discussions between the parties regarding the appointment of constitutional court justices or the dual special prosecution law.
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