Differences Remain After This Morning's Meeting Between Ruling and Opposition Floor Leaders
Negotiations Continue Over Five Vacant Standing Committee Chairmanships... Outcome Still Uncertain
Kim Byungki, acting leader and floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Song Eonseok, floor leader of the People Power Party, will meet again in the afternoon on June 24 after their morning meeting to discuss the contentious issue of distributing standing committee chairmanships.
Kim Hyunjung, floor spokesperson for the Democratic Party, told reporters after a parliamentary caucus held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the afternoon of June 24, "The floor leaders of both parties have agreed to meet at 5 p.m. today to continue discussions related to the schedule."
Kim and Song had already met at 11 a.m. that day during the first official meeting of the new ruling and opposition floor leadership, presided over by National Assembly Speaker Woo Wonshik, where they agreed to convene a plenary session on June 26.
During the meeting, Kim asked Song to cooperate on the passage of the supplementary budget bill, but Song countered by demanding that the chairmanship of the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee, which has traditionally been allocated to the opposition, be handed over.
In addition to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, other standing committees currently without a chair are the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, the Strategy and Finance Committee, the Steering Committee, and the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee. Speaker Woo requested that the floor leaders of both parties reach an agreement by June 26 on the formation of the Budget and Accounts Committee for the review of the supplementary budget bill and the allocation of chairmanships for the five standing committees. The Democratic Party has stated its intention to process the supplementary budget bill by July 4, the last day of the June extraordinary session.
During the caucus, Kim emphasized, "This is an urgent budget for economic stimulus and stabilizing people's livelihoods. The public is appealing for measures to revive livelihoods right now," adding, "The nationwide livelihood recovery support fund is not a choice but a necessity. It is time to breathe new life into local economies, small businesses, and the consumer market."
Regarding the confirmation of Kim Minseok as Prime Minister nominee, Kim Hyunjung explained, "If the personnel hearing report on nominee Kim is adopted, it should be put to a vote in the plenary session. Our position is that the sooner the vote takes place, the better. If an agreement is reached, it could happen this week, but if not, the plan is to hold the vote by June 30 or before the supplementary budget bill is processed on July 4, as the floor leadership stated during a closed-door caucus."
Meanwhile, the ruling and opposition parties plan to pass a resolution honoring Charles Rangel, a Korean War veteran and former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, at the plenary session on June 26.
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