13th Gyeongnam Provincial Council Faces Disruption from the Start ... Assembly Formation Conflict Leads to Half-Empty Opening

The 13th Gyeongnam Provincial Council faced chaos from its very first day due to conflict between the ruling and opposition parties over the composition of the chairmanship for the first half of its term, signaling continued tension in future legislative activities.

The 1st plenary session of the 13th Gyeongnam Provincial Assembly's first extraordinary meeting in the first half is underway with all Democratic Party members having left the chamber.
Photo by Lee Seryung

On the afternoon of July 6, the first plenary session of the extraordinary meeting for the 13th council—which was also the 434th extraordinary session and included the election of the chairperson and vice chairpersons—was held with only People Power Party members in attendance, and the vote for the chair and vice chairs proceeded accordingly.

That day, Democratic Party members held a press conference ahead of the plenary session, criticizing, "The People Power Party is trampling on the will of the residents by taking an arrogant and unilateral path, relying only on the power of its majority."

Democratic Party lawmakers are holding a press conference criticizing the People Power Party regarding the composition of the chairmanship.
Photo by Se-ryung Lee

They stated, "Although the residents gave the Democratic Party 34% support, the People Power Party, as the majority, is pushing to unilaterally nominate and elect all 10 positions in the chairman group without any negotiations or consultations." They added, "A council that excludes the opposition's voice cannot fulfill its essential function of providing fair checks and oversight of the provincial government and the Office of Education." Afterward, they declared their refusal to participate in the vote and announced their collective walkout from the plenary session.

Following this, Democratic Party members stood in front of the main chamber, holding placards and chanting slogans such as "Stop monopolizing the chairmanship" each time People Power Party members entered.

Democratic Party lawmakers are holding a placard protest regarding the composition of the chairman panel.
[Photo by Se-ryeong Lee]

Kim Kyungsoo, the Democratic Party's representative council member, made a procedural remark during the session, stating, "Exercising monopolistic control over the council's operation simply because you hold 44 seats is an arrogant attitude that disregards the basic principles of democracy."

He continued, "Back in 2018, when the Democratic Party held 33 out of 58 seats in the 11th council, we yielded one vice chair position and two standing committee chair positions to the Liberty Korea Party, which then held 21 seats. What about the People Power Party now?"

He added, "Participating in a vote driven solely by seat numbers would be abandoning our duty as the opposition, entrusted by the residents, to provide oversight and checks. We will no longer act as bystanders to this arrogant dominance," and proceeded to leave the chamber with fellow party members.

Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers from Gyeongnam, including Assemblyman Kim Kyungsoo, are making proceedings remarks regarding the composition of the chairmanship.
[Photo by Se-ryeong Lee]

The People Power Party's floor leadership held a press conference that morning, stating, "The residents entrusted us with 44 seats in the local elections, which means we must boldly innovate Gyeongnam without hesitation." They added, "We will do our utmost to provide institutional support and fulfill our responsibilities for the development of Gyeongnam, pouring all our efforts into solving livelihood issues."

Regarding the chairmanship election process, they explained, "This reflects responsible politics that embodies the residents' will. We established the best system to clarify responsibility in decision-making and to ensure promptness in policy decisions."

They also emphasized, "We will go beyond conflict to strengthen unity within the council and practice responsible politics focused solely on the residents. Even if the beginning is rough, we will dedicate ourselves to legislative work with utmost effort so that, in the end, we will be recognized by the residents as having done an excellent job."

The People Power Party's Gyeongnam Provincial Assembly floor leader group is holding a press conference to announce the launch of the floor leader group and their stance on the assembly organization.
[Photo by Se-ryeong Lee]

The 13th Gyeongnam Provincial Council consists of 68 seats in total: 44 held by the People Power Party, 23 by the Democratic Party of Korea, and 1 by an independent.

Before the council's organization, the Democratic Party, citing their 34% share of seats and previous precedent from the 11th council, requested one vice chair position and two standing committee chair positions. However, the People Power Party countered by offering one vice chair and one standing committee chair position, and the two sides ultimately failed to reach a compromise.

As a result, the People Power Party confirmed 10 candidates for the chairmanship through an internal primary, while the Democratic Party refused to accept the People Power Party's proposal and did not nominate any candidates.

Consequently, the vote for chair and vice chairs was carried out with only 45 members present, as all 23 Democratic Party members exited the session.

On this day, Assemblyman Park Jun was elected as chair, Assemblyman Shin Jongcheol as the first vice chair, and Assemblyman Lee Chanho as the second vice chair.

On July 7, elections for the seven standing committee chair positions, including the council operation committee chair, are scheduled to take place.

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