The possibility of the Democratic Party of Korea pushing through the formation of the National Assembly's standing committees on its own is growing, as the rival parties have failed to find common ground in negotiations over the second-half organization of the 22nd National Assembly. The People Power Party plans to resist with all its might until the end, but blocking the committee formation itself is expected to be difficult, given that the Democratic Party holds a majority.
The Democratic Party and the People Power Party will each hold general assembly meetings Sunday to finalize their responses on the second-half committee formation. After the People Power Party refused to submit its roster of standing committee members, National Assembly Speaker Cho Jeong-sik assigned committees to People Power Party lawmakers on his own authority Thursday and sent an official letter instructing them to submit their opinions by noon Sunday. In response, the Democratic Party has signaled that if negotiations break down completely on that day, it will convene a plenary session and unilaterally process the allocation of the 18 standing committee chairmanships.
In political circles, observers say that if the Democratic Party forces through the committee formation, the structure could repeat the first half of the 21st National Assembly in 2020, when the party effectively monopolized the standing committee chairmanships. The People Power Party has also signaled a hardline response, including filibusters and outside-the-Assembly protests. As a result, concerns are growing that even if the standing committees are launched, cooperation between the rival parties will effectively halt, and a "vegetative assembly" could reemerge, with livelihood-related legislation drifting for an extended period.
