In the Press
New Nat'l Assembly speaker elected; 1st plenary meeting held without ruling party
- Jun 14, 2024
- 85
SEOUL, June 5 (Yonhap) -- Five-term lawmaker Woo Won-shik was elected as the new National Assembly speaker Wednesday in a unilateral vote by the opposition parties at a plenary meeting with lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) boycotting the session.
It marked the first time in South Korea's constitutional history that the first plenary meeting of the parliament opened unilaterally without the ruling party.
The rare move comes after the ruling and main opposition parties failed to reach an agreement on how to form the parliamentary standing committees of the newly launched National Assembly.
During the meeting, the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) unilaterally carried out the vote to elect Rep. Woo as Assembly speaker and four-term lawmaker Lee Hak-young as the vice speaker.
PPP floor leader Choo Kyung-ho attended the session briefly and left immediately after he addressed the Assembly.
"This plenary session is neither constitutional nor legal because there is no bipartisan agreement on the agenda," he said.
Negotiations still remain stalled over the formation of the 18 committees for the Assembly's four-year term.
The central point of contention is who will chair the three main committees, including the legislation and judiciary committee, a key Assembly panel that has the power to approve bills before they are put to a plenary vote.
The DP took the legislative committee chair in the first half of the previous Assembly, followed by the PPP in the second half.
After his meeting with DP floor leader Park Chan-dae earlier in the day, Choo told reporters that the two sides "could not narrow differences and will continue to engage in dialogue."
Park said the two parties will continue to negotiate until Friday's legal deadline.
It is customary for the party holding the most parliamentary seats to take the speaker position.
The DP secured 175 seats in the 300-seat National Assembly in last month's general elections.
julesyi@yna.co.kr
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[Photo] The first plenary session of the newly launched 22nd National Assembly opens in Seoul on June 5, 2024, with the ruling People Power Party boycotting it due to a dispute with the main opposition Democratic Party over how to allocate the chairs of parliamentary committees. (Yonhap)
[Photo 2] Rep. Choo Kyung-ho (L), floor leader of the ruling People Power Party, and his main opposition Democratic Party counterpart, Park Chan-dae, look gloomy at the National Assembly in Seoul on June 5, 2024, as their negotiations failed on how to divide the committees of the newly launched 22nd parliament. (Yonhap)
