Ruling and Opposition Party Floor Leaders' Private Meeting
Agreement Reached on Formation of Aviation Disaster Special Committee
On the 6th, the ruling and opposition parties agreed on the formation of a special committee for the Jeju Air disaster. However, there were significant differences between the parties regarding the handling of the twin special prosecution bills (the insurrection special prosecution and the Kim Geon-hee special prosecution) and the schedule for the plenary session to address current issues.
Park Hyung-soo, the senior deputy floor leader of the People Power Party, and Park Sung-joon, the senior deputy floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, held a closed-door meeting at the National Assembly that day. Both sides reached considerable consensus on the formation of the special committee related to the aviation disaster.
On the 27th, the nomination consent bill for Supreme Court Justice candidate Ma Yong-ju is being submitted at the National Assembly plenary session. Photo by Kim Hyun-min
Park Sung-joon explained, "We agreed on the formation of the special committee. It should be formed promptly, with the People Power Party taking the chairmanship, and the committee will consist of 18 members. The Democratic Party will have 10 members, the People Power Party 7 members, and one member from a minor party." Park Hyung-soo said, "We agreed to promptly form the special committee. We have previously formed committees with 18 members, and also with 12 or 13 members, but we will finalize the number after further discussion."
However, there were significant differences in views regarding the schedule for the plenary session.
Park Sung-joon stated, "I proposed holding a plenary session as early as tomorrow to reconsider the bills for which the right to request reconsideration has been exercised. Given the ongoing economic crisis and the importance of follow-up measures for the aviation disaster, I suggested holding the plenary session on the 8th and 9th to conduct current issue inquiries." On the other hand, Park Hyung-soo said, "The People Power Party has usually held plenary sessions for one day. There are only four bills left that require reconsideration, which will not take much time, so one day on the 9th is sufficient. Current issue inquiries were held even after martial law, and government questioning is scheduled for the February session, so we should proceed according to the usual procedures."
In response, Park Sung-joon said, "We prepared for two days of government questioning through the Steering Committee last week, but it was canceled because the public is in mourning over the aviation disaster and the atmosphere was not suitable for government questioning. Economically, there are also issues with refusal of fair and lawful law enforcement, so it is necessary to inform the public about the government's stance on the economic crisis and the aviation disaster-related concerns that are causing public anxiety."
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