The People Power Party (PPP) said on the 14th that it could enter negotiations on the National Assembly's committee setup if an agreement is reached on accepting an opposition-recommended special counsel over voting rights and on the issue of prosecutors' supplementary investigation powers. The party also proposed legislating the principles for allocating standing committee chairmanships as a condition for negotiations. This marks a step back from its previous stance of demanding the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, but gaps between the ruling and opposition parties on key issues remain, prompting forecasts that reaching a committee setup agreement by the 17th will not be easy.
PPP floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik hinted at the possibility of committee setup negotiations during an appearance on a YouTube broadcast that day. When asked whether committee setup could be discussed "if a realistic agreement is reached, such as the Democratic Party accepting an opposition-recommended special counsel to investigate the ballot paper shortage incident, or reflecting the opposition's position on abolishing prosecutors' supplementary investigation powers," he replied, "There is room for it." This is interpreted as presenting negotiation conditions after stepping back from his previous stance of refusing to negotiate while demanding the Legislation and Judiciary Committee chairmanship.
He also put forward legislating the principles of committee setup as a negotiating card. After a meeting of ruling and opposition floor leaders chaired by the National Assembly Speaker that day, Jeong said, "I proposed revising the National Assembly Act to prevent the majority party from taking all standing committees, or legislating a system in which, starting from the 23rd National Assembly, the first party takes the National Assembly Speaker post and the second party selects the first standing committee chairmanship." He also suggested that if such a system were established, he would not insist on the Legislation and Judiciary Committee chairmanship.
The PPP's change in position is interpreted as reflecting a pragmatic view within the party. The opinion that the party should take seven standing committee chairmanships and engage in parliamentary struggle in order to secure negotiating leverage on contentious issues is gaining ground. Jeong said, "There is a view questioning whether we should voluntarily give up the opportunity to discuss matters of great public interest, such as the voting rights special counsel or the prosecutors' supplementary investigation power issue, with the Democratic Party within the Assembly." However, he added, "There is also skepticism about whether there is any alternative in a situation where the Democratic Party is trying to forcibly push through revisions to the Criminal Procedure Act."
Still, the gap between the two parties has yet to narrow. After meeting with Democratic Party floor leader Han Byung-do that day, Jeong said, "(The party) did not respond to most (of the proposals)," adding, "I am so skeptical that I wonder what meaning there is in continuing negotiations afterward." Han said, "We failed to narrow differences on the method of recommending the special counsel and the issue of committee allocation," and stated, "If it is confirmed that the PPP has no will to negotiate on committee setup, we cannot drag out the time any longer."
With the ruling and opposition parties running parallel on key issues, observers say reaching a committee setup agreement by the 17th—the negotiation deadline set by National Assembly Speaker Cho Jeong-sik—will not be easy.
