Rival parties clash over selecting standing committee chiefs

Ruling party warns boycott as main opposition pushes forward with unilateral nominee list

Democratic Party lawmakers file a document containing the list of nominees for the members of the standing committees for the first two years of the 22nd National Assembly with the proceeding division in western Seoul on Friday. (Yonhap)

The two largest parties here have locked horns over selecting the heads of the standing committee chiefs for the first two years of the 22nd National Assembly, which began its four-year term on May 30.

On Friday, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, which accounts for the majority of the single-chamber, 300-member parliament with 175 seats, submitted a list of its nominees for the heads and members of the 18 standing committees to the Assembly’s proceeding division.

The list drawn unilaterally by the Democratic Party prompted flak from the ruling People Power Party, as the nominees for the chiefs of 11 of the 18 committees were main opposition party members. The ruling party has boycotted the move by not submitting its own nominee list by the legal deadline of Friday.

The committees, especially the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, play a key part in assessing and approving bills before they are put to a plenary vote. The Democratic Party has tapped its own Rep. Jung Chung-rae as chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee in the latest nominations.

The main opposition called for the ruling party to “cooperate” with its goal to form a National Assembly that “works” for the people, in a Sunday briefing.

“The People Power Party decided not to submit its list of nominees for the members of the standing committees,” Democratic Party spokesperson Rep. Kang Yu-jung said.

“The (ruling party) undermines the National Assembly Act by (not cooperating with us), while criticizing (our move as unconventional),” she added.

Following the announcement of the main opposition’s nominee list Friday, the ruling party stressed the tradition of the members of the second largest party holding the chair positions of the key standing committees, including the Legislation and Judiciary Committee.

“The Democratic Party has unilaterally submitted the list of nominees for the 11 standing committees without our consent,” People Power Party Floor Leader Rep. Choo Kyung-ho said in a press briefing.

“It is customary for (the members) of the People Power Party, the second-largest party here, to become chairs of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the House Steering Committee, as (a member) of the Democratic Party currently holds the Assembly speaker position. It is a tradition and principle that has been long upheld throughout decades of conflict and dispute between the rival parties,” he added.

The Democratic Party plans to request Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik to approve and pass its list of nominees in a plenary session scheduled for Monday.

By Jung Min-kyung(mkjung@heraldcorp.com)