People Power Party Senior Lawmakers Meet... National Assembly Boycott Likely to Continue for Now

The People Power Party is expected to maintain its boycott of the ongoing National Assembly schedule for the time being, in protest against the Democratic Party’s unilateral election of standing committee chairs.

On July 13, Jeong Jeomsik, floor leader of the People Power Party, met with reporters after holding a meeting with 12 senior lawmakers at the National Assembly in the morning. He stated, “The general consensus is that we cannot give up on a special counsel recommended by the opposition regarding the shortage of ballot papers in the 9th nationwide local elections. There are also questions as to whether it is appropriate to proceed with negotiations for the formation of parliamentary committees under the current circumstances.”

Jeong Jeomsik, floor leader of the People Power Party, is speaking at the party strategy meeting held at the National Assembly on July 10, 2026. Photo by Hyunmin Kim

Although the meeting was held behind closed doors and the senior lawmakers did not reach a single unified position, many argued that the boycott should continue. After the meeting, Assemblyman Kim Do-eup told reporters, “With the Democratic Party holding both the National Assembly Speaker and the chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, and declaring there is no room for negotiation regarding the abolition of the supplementary investigative authority, there were discussions about what meaning there would be for us to participate in the standing committees under these circumstances.”

It is reported that Floor Leader Jeong listened carefully to the views of the senior lawmakers. He told reporters, “Since we will be discussing this again at the general assembly of lawmakers in the afternoon, it is difficult to make any premature statements on the matter,” but added, “I think the views of our senior members and other lawmakers are almost aligned.”

Meanwhile, the People Power Party plans to hold a general assembly of lawmakers in the afternoon to continue discussions on the formation of parliamentary committees and the Democratic Party’s revision of the Criminal Procedure Act (abolition of the supplementary investigative authority).

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