The Democratic Party of Korea on Tuesday nominated six-term lawmaker Cho Jung-sik as its candidate for National Assembly Speaker for the second half of the 22nd National Assembly at its general meeting. As the majority party, the Democratic Party will likely see Cho elected without difficulty in a subsequent plenary vote.
Upon his nomination, Cho said, "As a speaker from the ruling party, I will work closely with party leader Jung Chung-rae and floor leader Han Byung-do to build a National Assembly that delivers speed and results." He added, "We will swiftly complete the committee formation within June and pass all legislation for state affairs within December."
With the ruling party holding an overwhelming majority, politics could lose its balance if the next speaker tilts excessively toward the ruling camp. In particular, an excessive fixation on legislative speed by the speaker risks deepening divisions in public opinion. The vicious cycle of controversies over the speaker's political bias and the dysfunction of the National Assembly seen in the first half of the 22nd Assembly must not be repeated. The first half was marred by the Democratic Party's breaking of parliamentary convention to claim 11 of the 17 standing committee chairmanships, including key posts such as the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the House Steering Committee. It was also inappropriate for then-Speaker Woo Won-shik to forcibly assign People Power Party lawmakers who protested against the move to standing committees. The Democratic Party subsequently pushed through bills entangled in constitutional disputes, such as the introduction of a crime of judicial distortion (Article 123-2 of the Criminal Act) and a bill establishing an insurrection trial bench, along with corporate-squeezing legislation including the Yellow Envelope Act (Articles 2 and 3 of the Trade Union Act) and the first and second rounds of Commercial Act amendments, intensifying the extreme standoff between the parties.
To break the vicious cycle of political polarization, Cho, once he takes office, must firmly uphold the principle of the separation of powers while representing public opinion with a sense of balance. Given that Cho served as a political special advisor to President Lee Jae-myung, he should be mindful that even minor words and actions may be interpreted as reflecting "Myungsim," or the president's intentions. Party leader Jung's plan for the ruling party to take all standing committee chairmanships in the second half of the Assembly should be rejected. The ruling party's fabricated-indictment special prosecutor bill, whose legislative timing has been pushed back to after the local elections amid constitutional disputes, must also follow the will of the people. Though the incoming speaker comes from the ruling party, Cho must recognize that his greater backing lies with the people, and must devote every effort to ensuring that the ruling and opposition parties pursue only the advancement of national interest and public welfare through dialogue and compromise.
