President skips National Assembly opening in historical first

President Yoon Suk Yeol did not attend Monday’s formal opening ceremony of the 22nd National Assembly, the first abstention by a president since 1987.

Members of the 22nd National Assembly pose for a group photograph in front of the legislature in Yeouido, western Seoul, after the official opening ceremony on Monday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

President Yoon Suk Yeol skipped Monday’s formal opening ceremony of the 22nd National Assembly, which was held more than three months after the legislature was inaugurated.

Yoon’s absence marks the first time that a sitting president has not attended the official opening of the National Assembly since Korea began to hold direct elections in 1987.

While the legislature has been able to debate and pass bills until now without holding its official opening, certain aspects of the ceremony — such as the lawmakers’ oaths — are required by law.

The ceremony took place 95 days after lawmakers elected in the April general election officially took their seats, making it the most delayed opening of the National Assembly since the first direct elections.

Speaker Woo Won-shik acknowledged the delay in his speech to lawmakers, during which he said he feels a “heavy sense of responsibility.”

But the speaker also called on president to “carefully heed the voice of the National Assembly” and argued that “there can be no achievements in state affairs without respect” for the legislature.

Woo proposed the creation of a joint dialogue channel involving the government, major political parties, doctors and patients to resolve the ongoing impasse over the government’s plan to increase annual medical recruitment, which led to a mass walkout by the country’s junior doctors.

Earlier in the day, a presidential official told reporters that the Assembly’s invitation to Yoon to attend the ceremony “could be intended to humiliate him in public,” adding the legislature should stop “abusing special counsel probes and impeachment procedures.”

Since taking office two years ago, Yoon has vetoed 21 bills passed by the legislature, which was and is currently controlled by the liberal Democratic Party (DP).

Although the ceremony was initially scheduled to be held on July 5, it was boycotted by the conservative People Power Party (PPP) after the DP said it would push ahead with several controversial bills, including legislation to establish a special counsel probe into the military’s handling of a young Marine corporal’s death.

The two rival parties eventually agreed to time the ceremony to coincide with the beginning of the National Assembly’s regular session.

The PPP and DP, however, are expected to lock horns over the government’s proposed budget for next year, which at 677 trillion won ($505 billion) represents a 3.2 percent rise from the previous year’s spending.

The DP seeks to slash funding for some items while also pushing its own initiatives, including party leader Lee Jae-myung’s general election pledge to distribute 250,000 won to every individual.

Lee came under fire from the presidential office on Monday for openly speculating that the Yoon administration could impose martial law during talks with PPP chief Han Dong-hoon that were broadcast live the previous day.

“We are appalled that the leader of a major political party would spread fabricated rumors on live television,” presidential spokesperson Jeong Hye-jeon said during a press briefing.

Jeong questioned if Lee’s comments are intended to “build a case for [Yoon’s] impeachment” and argued that the DP should be known as the “party of fake news” if it cannot provide “a shred of evidence” to support its leader’s claims.

Martial law was last imposed in 1979 and lasted 456 days, during which then-President Chun Doo Hwan cemented his military dictatorship.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]