Ruling and Opposition Parties Agree to Address Parliamentary Investigation on June 18... Committee Formation Talks Still Deadlocked

Differences Remain Over Committee Chair and Member Allocation for Parliamentary Investigation
Disagreement Persists on Which Party Will Chair the Legislation and Judiciary Committee

The ruling and opposition parties are moving toward convening a plenary session on June 18 to adopt the so-called "National Assembly Investigation Plan regarding the Ballot Paper Shortage Incident." Negotiations for the composition of the committees in the second half of the 22nd National Assembly remain deadlocked, as the parties have yet to narrow their differences over which party will assume the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee.

Cheon Junho, Chief Deputy Whip of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Kim Seungsoo, Chief Deputy Whip of the People Power Party, met at the National Assembly on June 15 to discuss pending issues, including the formation of the special committee for the parliamentary investigation. Cheon stated, "Regarding the parliamentary investigation, we exchanged opinions on the appointment of the committee chair and the allocation ratio of committee members," adding, "We did not reach a specific conclusion; it was more of a chance to confirm each other's positions." The People Power Party insists that the special committee should be composed equally of ruling and opposition members, while the Democratic Party maintains that the seats should be allocated in proportion to the parties' number of seats in the Assembly.

Cheon Junho, Chief Deputy Whip of the Democratic Party of Korea (left), and Kim Seungsoo, who has been nominated as Chief Deputy Whip of the People Power Party, are moving on the 12th to meet at the National Assembly Steering Committee Chairman's office. Photo by Yonhap News

Cheon also conveyed the atmosphere of the meeting, saying, "We discussed moving forward as quickly as possible so that if the plenary session is held on the 18th, the issue can be addressed then." Kim stated, "I raised the opinion that it is essential for the special investigation to proceed alongside the special prosecutor investigation."

It appears increasingly likely that the plenary session will be held on June 18. Cheon said, "We agreed in principle to process the matter through the plenary session on the 18th," but added, "I cannot say it is finalized yet." He continued, "Both parties have agreed to aim for that date, and we also hope to have the committee composition settled by then, but we need to monitor the situation further."

Negotiations over committee composition reportedly remain stalled due to disagreements over the allocation of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee chairmanship.

Cheon stated, "Both the Democratic Party and the People Power Party believe they should take charge of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee," adding, "Today's meeting was an opportunity to confirm that each party believes it should lead the major economic standing committees, either from the perspective of governance or oversight." Kim explained, "As for the composition of the committees, we have agreed to first resolve the issue of the parliamentary investigation and then continue discussions after further collecting opinions."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.