The Democratic Party of Korea signaled it could take all 18 chairmanships of the National Assembly's standing committees, pressuring the People Power Party over negotiations on parliamentary setup.
Floor leader Han Byung-do made the remarks at a general meeting of lawmakers held at the National Assembly on Sunday. "For a month, we have endured and endured, doing our best to reach a swift agreement on parliamentary setup," he said. "But the People Power Party keeps repeating only that we should hand over the Legislation and Judiciary Committee."
"If the People Power Party had even a minimum of conscience and shame, they could not demand the Legislation and Judiciary Committee," Han stressed. "They have abused the filibuster to block livelihood bills, halted standing committees, and held back state affairs." He continued, "The demand to hand over the Legislation and Judiciary Committee is nothing more or less than a delaying tactic to deliberately obstruct parliamentary setup and stall the Assembly. With Middle East-driven price pressure also intensifying, the Democratic Party, as the largest party, must make a responsible decision." The remarks effectively explained that the party would take all 18 standing committees for itself if negotiations with the People Power Party break down.
Han went on to say, "Given the gravity and urgency of the matter, I ask all lawmakers to be on emergency standby from this afternoon." He raised his voice, adding, "We will never let this go beyond tomorrow. Immediately after completing the parliamentary setup, we will run all standing committees at full capacity to push forward livelihood bills."
Han also proposed adopting as a party position the pursuit of a special counsel to investigate the ballot paper shortage at the National Election Commission. "Since we have taken the first step toward uncovering the truth through a parliamentary investigation, an independent special counsel is needed to also expose the evasion of responsibility for dereliction of duty," he said. "If you delegate the special counsel recommendation to the floor leadership, we will uncover the truth to the end and unwaveringly push for institutional improvements to prevent recurrence."
