National Assembly Elects 11 Standing Committee Chairs Led by Democratic Party... People Power Party Protests

People Power Party Lawmakers Resign En Masse Over Forced Committee Appointments

On the afternoon of June 30, the National Assembly held a plenary session and, led by the Democratic Party, elected chairs for 11 standing committees, including the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, which had been the main point of contention in the ruling and opposition parties' negotiations over the composition of the parliamentary committees.

National Assembly Plenary Session. Yonhap News Agency

All of the committee chairs elected that day are members of the Democratic Party. Assemblywoman Seo Young-kyo, serving her fourth term, was elected chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee; Yoo Dong-soo, in his third term, was chosen as chair of the Political Affairs Committee; and Cho Seung-rae, also in his third term, was elected chair of the Planning and Finance Committee.

Song Ki-heon, in his third term, was elected as chair of the Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee; Jin Sung-joon, third-term, as chair of the National Defense Committee; Kim Young-jin, third-term, as chair of the Public Administration and Security Committee; and Lee Jae-jung, third-term, as chair of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee.

Seo Sam-seok, third-term, was elected as chair of the Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee; Kim Joungho, third-term, as chair of the Climate, Energy, Environment and Labor Committee. Han Byung-do, the Democratic Party floor leader and third-term lawmaker, was elected as chair of the Steering Committee, while Lee Kwang-jae, fourth-term, was chosen as chair of the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts.

Lawmakers from the People Power Party strongly protested the ruling party's move to force through the election of all the committee chairs at once. People Power Party floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik warned, "We will not accept this kind of unilateral action without negotiation or this practice of dividing up committee posts as political spoils," adding, "From now on, all responsibility for running state affairs lies squarely with the Democratic Party."

The People Power Party submitted resignations from the committees after National Assembly Speaker Jo Jeong-sik forcibly appointed People Power Party lawmakers as members of the 11 standing committees to be dealt with at the plenary session and notified them accordingly.

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