"369 Out of 406 Days Spent on Overnight Duty Inside the National Assembly"
Park Chandae, Acting Party Leader and Floor Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated at his farewell press conference on June 12, "What I remember most is achieving a change of government by following the will of the people together with the people."
Park Chandae, Acting Party Leader and Floor Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea. Photo by Kim Hyunmin
On this day, Park held a press briefing in the Democratic Party's floor leader meeting room at the National Assembly and emphasized, "If I had to sum up my tenure as floor leader in one word, it was a long and arduous journey with the great people?no, it was a glorious journey."
Park said, "Upon taking office as floor leader, I pledged before the people to create a reform-minded National Assembly through action. I worked hard and fought fiercely against the Yoon Suk-yeol administration. Thanks to these efforts, a true Republic of Korea was opened. As the first floor leader of the 22nd National Assembly, I found it truly rewarding."
Park recalled his past days, noting that he spent 369 out of his 406 days as floor leader on emergency overnight duty within the National Assembly compound. He also highlighted his achievements, such as leading the passage of 84 major legislative bills through the National Assembly's plenary session.
Previously, in May of last year, Park was elected as floor leader after running as the sole candidate with support from the pro-Lee Jaemyung faction within the party. In particular, he continued to serve as the party's parliamentary commander during the 12·3 Martial Law and impeachment crisis under former President Yoon Suk-yeol.
On December 7 of last year, just before the vote on the first impeachment motion against former President Yoon Suk-yeol at the National Assembly plenary session, he made a deep impression by calling out the names of People Power Party lawmakers one by one, urging them to participate in the vote. In April of this year, when Lee Jaemyung resigned as party leader to run for president, Park concurrently served as acting party leader. During the presidential election, he contributed to the victory by serving as the chief campaign manager of the election committee. He also drew attention from the crowd by showing off his impressive dance moves at Lee Jaemyung's local election campaign rallies.
Park is also being mentioned as a leading candidate in the upcoming Democratic Party leadership election, which is expected to be held as early as next month. Another potential candidate is Jung Cheongrae, a four-term lawmaker. The term of the new party leader will be one year, filling the remainder of the term left vacant when President Lee Jaemyung resigned as party leader.
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