Negotiations Fail Again Over National Assembly Committee Leadership

Negotiations between the ruling and opposition parties over the formation of the National Assembly's committees have once again collapsed ahead of the upcoming plenary session. Disagreements over the distribution of the Judiciary Committee chair position were at the center of the impasse. The Democratic Party announced its intention to unilaterally elect 11 committee chairs to create a functioning legislature.

On the morning of June 30, the floor leaders and deputy floor leaders of both parties met at the National Assembly for about 20 minutes to discuss the issue.

Following the meeting, Jeong Jeom-sik, floor leader of the People Power Party, told reporters, "The Democratic Party insists on taking all committee chairs, including the Judiciary Committee, just as they have done in the past. We believe it is essential to maintain checks and balances within the National Assembly and must protect the Judiciary Committee."

He added, "We proposed that if our party takes the Judiciary Committee, we would elect a chair recommended by the Democratic Party, but they still insisted on keeping the Judiciary Committee for themselves, leading to the breakdown of negotiations." Jeong also indicated that the Democratic Party is likely to proceed with the plenary session alongside the National Assembly Speaker, stating, "We will hold a party meeting to respond to this situation."

While the Democratic Party had considered taking all 18 committee chairs, it is now expected to proceed with the unilateral election of 11 committee chairs.

Han Byeong-do, the Democratic Party's floor leader, remarked, "We proposed a balanced approach that considers economic and foreign policy issues, suggesting a distribution of 11 seats for the Democratic Party and 7 for the People Power Party. However, the People Power Party raised concerns about the absence of the Judiciary Committee in this proposal."

He continued, "We did not present a proposal solely favorable to us; it was made with mutual consideration. Yet, all our suggestions were disregarded. We have repeatedly stated that it is our duty to establish a functioning National Assembly urgently, so we will proceed with the election of the 11 committees without delay today."