National Assembly Elects Six Standing Committee Chairs for People Power Party... Gender Equality Committee to Be Re-Elected Later

On July 23, the National Assembly elected six standing committee chairs allocated to the People Power Party. However, since Assemblywoman Lim Ija of the People Power Party, who was selected as the candidate for the National Assembly Gender Equality and Family Committee Chair, expressed her intention to step down, a separate parliamentary group meeting and plenary session will be held later to elect a new chairperson.

Yonhap News Agency

That afternoon, the National Assembly held a plenary session and elected members of the People Power Party—Kim Heejung, Song Seokjun, Kim Sungwon, Lee Manhee, Yoo Euidong, and Lee Yangsoo—as the chairs of the Education, Foreign Affairs & Unification, Industry, Trade, Energy, SMEs & Startups, Health & Welfare, Land, Infrastructure & Transport, and Intelligence committees, respectively.

Out of a total of 262 votes, Kim Heejung, Education Committee Chair, received 244 votes; Song Seokjun, Foreign Affairs & Unification Committee Chair, received 233 votes; Kim Sungwon, Industry, Trade, Energy, SMEs & Startups Committee Chair, received 249 votes; Lee Manhee, Health & Welfare Committee Chair, received 239 votes; Yoo Euidong, Land, Infrastructure & Transport Committee Chair, received 241 votes; and Lee Yangsoo, Intelligence Committee Chair, received 248 votes.

Upon her election, Kim Heejung, Chair of the Education Committee, stated, "It has been a very long time since I returned to the National Assembly. But the traditions and virtues that the Assembly once upheld—such as consensus, cooperation, checks, and balances—have faded greatly," adding, "I hope to restore consensus, cooperation, checks, and balances through the Education Committee."

Regarding the Gender Equality Committee Chair, since Assemblywoman Lim Ija, who had been nominated through an agreement among the three-term lawmakers of the People Power Party as per customary practice, resigned, a new election process will be conducted. Under the current People Power Party regulations, if a standing committee chairmanship becomes vacant, the parliamentary group nominates a candidate at a parliamentary group meeting until a by-election is held.

As for the new candidate for the Gender Equality Committee Chair, Assemblywoman Kim Jeongjae, who was not selected in the Land, Infrastructure & Transport Committee chair race, has been recommended. Choi Sujin, Chief Spokesperson for the People Power Party, told reporters that "after confirming the candidate at a future parliamentary group meeting, the plenary vote is expected to take place on the 30th."

The People Power Party’s floor leadership has also completed assigning their members to each standing committee. Spokesperson Choi stated, "Each assembly member's committee assignments have been designated," adding, "As the Gender Equality Committee’s chair has not yet been decided, that roster will be released in due course."

With the election of the 11 ruling party and 6 opposition party committee chairs now completed, the second half of the 22nd National Assembly was normalized after 54 days.

However, considerable tensions between the ruling and opposition parties are expected from the outset. The issue of retaining or abolishing supplementary investigative authority still remains. Han Byungdo, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated in the morning, "It is now time to wrap up the fierce debates and deliberations," and added, "In October, we will ensure the smooth implementation of the new criminal justice system."

The special prosecutor bill for the ballot shortage incident is also left unresolved. The ruling and opposition parties have so far only agreed on fundamentals, such as the right to recommend candidates and the handling period (end of July), but they still need to negotiate details regarding the scope and duration of the investigation.

People Power Party leader Jang Donghyeok commented on the joint investigation team of the prosecution and police detecting suspicions that officials at the National Election Commission may have entered false voter turnout figures. He said, "If voter turnout numbers were falsified, was it simply a poor election, or was it election rigging? This should not be dismissed as a conspiracy theory," adding, "The National Election Commission’s server must be included in the scope of the special prosecutor’s investigation."

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