The rival parties convened a plenary session of the National Assembly on Thursday and elected Democratic Party lawmaker Cho Jung-sik as speaker for the second half of the 22nd National Assembly. Democratic Party lawmaker Nam In-soon and People Power Party lawmaker Park Deok-hyum were elected as deputy speakers. Having completed the formation of the speaker's bloc, the rival parties will now enter negotiations on organizing the legislature for the second half, including the distribution of standing committee chairmanships. Full-scale negotiations will be possible after the People Power Party's floor leader election next week, but the tug-of-war between the parties is already intense.
The key point of contention is the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. By Assembly convention, the speaker comes from the largest party and the Legislation and Judiciary Committee chairmanship from the second-largest party, but this has already been broken by the Democratic Party. If the same course is followed in the second half, wasteful conflict could recur, raising concerns about the worst-case scenario of a paralyzed legislature. Nevertheless, the Democratic Party, through floor spokesperson Lee Joo-hee after its general meeting that day, stated, "The Legislation and Judiciary Committee chairmanship, at the very least, must be held by the Democratic Party in the second half as well." While the party cited the swift referral of livelihood reform bills to the plenary as its justification, the reality can be seen as revealing an intent to use the committee for the legislative speed battle led by the Democratic Party, including follow-up bills on prosecution reform.
The Democratic Party must reflect once again on why it failed to reclaim the Seoul mayoralty despite winning the June 3 local elections. Public sentiment wary of the ruling party's dominance may have been at play, and turning a blind eye to this would be problematic. If the party, trusting only in its majority of seats, repeats in the second half the legislative dominance it repeated throughout the first half, it could face an even greater judgment next time. Moreover, the current state of the economy is not so leisurely that the parties can afford to waste time on political strife. This is a grave period in which the triple crisis of high prices, high interest rates, and high exchange rates is striking the real economy and shaking the fundamental strength of the economy. In particular, the won-dollar exchange rate has surpassed the psychological line of defense at the 1,500 won level and even broken through the 1,530 won mark.
The National Assembly's second half must revive a politics of coexistence and be reborn as a "working Assembly." Cooperative governance begins with the reasonable distribution of standing committees. The Democratic Party must respect convention in the distribution of standing committees, including the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, and engage in dialogue and compromise with the opposition. The People Power Party, too, must break free from reckless obstructionism and present constructive alternatives. Only when the rival parties restore cooperative governance with one mind and roll up their sleeves for regulatory reform and livelihood legislation can the economy in crisis be revived.
