Han Byung-do, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, warned the People Power Party over its refusal to cooperate in running the National Assembly, saying Monday, "We will ensure that irresponsible partisan strife and work slowdowns cannot gain even the slightest foothold in the second half of the 22nd National Assembly." The Democratic Party plans to devise countermeasures to speed up legislation, including strengthening the standards for filibusters (unlimited debate) and shortening the period for the fast-track system for expedited bills.
"If the People Power Party obstructs the operation of the National Assembly, the Democratic Party will complete the normalization of the Assembly by mobilizing all means and methods," Han said at the party's Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly that day.
The Democratic Party had previously engaged in continuous negotiations with the People Power Party over restructuring the Assembly's committees for the second half of the term, but the two sides failed to narrow their differences over which party would take the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, which effectively serves as an upper chamber. Ultimately, the Democratic Party unilaterally passed a bill at the National Assembly plenary session on the 30th of last month, taking chairmanships of 11 standing committees, including the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, according to the ratio of seat distribution. It is urging negotiations while leaving seven standing committee chairmanships vacant for the People Power Party.
"As the first step toward creating a working National Assembly, the Democratic Party has completed the election of chairs for 11 standing committees," Han said. "If the People Power Party has even a shred of responsibility, we hope it will cooperate in electing the remaining seven standing committee chairs, even now." He then criticized, saying, "Due to the People Power Party's absurd sulking and unreasonable demands, the second half of the National Assembly has let a month slip by without even taking its first step," and added, "How abnormal must this have looked to the public?"
Han said, "We will strengthen the standards for filing and maintaining filibusters so that the practice of holding even livelihood bills hostage to partisan strife is never repeated," and "We will also fix the fast-track system, which is a system in name only."
Regarding prosecution reform, he stressed, "We will swiftly complete the revision of the Criminal Procedure Act, the final piece of the puzzle," and "A national consensus has been formed on the complete separation of investigation and prosecution, and the party, government, and presidential office are of one heart and mind." He continued, "We will begin the work of revising the Criminal Procedure Act in earnest and complete the legislation within a short deadline," and "We will spare no support at the National Assembly level so that the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) and the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency can launch without a hitch on October 1."
Regarding the ballot shortage that occurred during the June 3 local elections, he said, "We will further accelerate the investigation into the truth," and "We will take the lead in protecting the public's right to vote and restoring trust in elections so that this confusion can be resolved as soon as possible."
