Parties Resume Committee Negotiations but Still Deadlocked... Ruling Party Says "We Won't Wait Forever"

Negotiations Still Stalled Over Judiciary Committee Chairmanship

Democratic Party Floor Leadership: "We Will Proceed Swiftly Within This Week"

The ruling and opposition parties held negotiations on the formation of parliamentary committees on June 22, but failed to narrow their differences over the distribution of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee chairmanship, causing the talks to stall. The Democratic Party's floor leadership indicated a possible decision if negotiations break down, stating they would "not drag out the process."

Han Byungdo, Floor Leader of the Democratic Party, and Jeong Jeom-sik, Floor Leader of the People Power Party, held a "2+2" meeting on committee formation that day. Both sides, having already held six rounds of talks over the issue, once again failed to reach an agreement due to the dispute over the Legislation and Judiciary Committee.

Floor Leader Han stated, "We could not reach an agreement on the issue of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee chairmanship." He added, "As I have emphasized many times, to create a National Assembly that works and delivers results, the responsible ruling party must take charge of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. This is a fundamental principle."

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Floor Leader Jeong also said, "The ruling party is saying absolutely no regarding the Legislation and Judiciary Committee." He continued, "I pointed out the way the National Assembly has operated so far. Because the Legislation and Judiciary Committee could not perform its checks and balances function, there have been instances where the Democratic Party submitted revised bills and passed them in the plenary session. For checks and balances within the National Assembly, both parties must share the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. We have continued to make this point, but the Democratic Party keeps repeating the same argument," he conveyed.

Amid the significant differences between the parties, the ruling party hinted at the possibility of making a "decision."

Floor Leader Han stated, "As I have said several times, we will not wait indefinitely," adding, "We will not allow the National Assembly to remain inactive for a long time due to negotiations and talks, as has become customary." He continued, "We will proceed swiftly within this week. We will no longer tolerate any stalling."

When asked by reporters about the possibility of making a decision within this week, Floor Leader Han replied, "If the delay continues, we may divide the committees 11 to 7 according to the number of seats, or the Democratic Party may make a unilateral decision. We will make a decision between these two options soon."

Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to continue negotiations despite the sticking points, including the Legislation and Judiciary Committee.

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