Go to contents

Rep.Kim One-ki Elected First 17th Assembly Speaker

Posted June. 06, 2004 22:08,   

한국어

Rep. Kim One-ki of the ruling Uri Party, a six-term lawmaker, was elected first Assembly Speaker during the first plenary session of the 17th National Assembly on June 5.

Rep. Kim, the sole candidate, won 217 votes from the total of 235 lawmakers who attended the session. Reps. Kim Hyuk-kyu of the Uri Party, Lee Sang-deuk, and Chung Mong-joon (both independents) won one write-in vote each. Twelve blank ballots and three invalid votes were also cast in the election, which was chaired by Rep. Lee Sang-deuk of the Grand National Party,

In his acceptance, Rep. Kim pledged to keep the deliberations of the 17th National Assembly above partisan politics. Lawmakers, Kim said, should “make every effort to improve public perception of the Assembly as a mere battlefield for ambitious politicians, and to develop cooperative relations.”

However, the election of two Vice Speakers was delayed as a result of divided opinions between the ruling and the opposition parties.

Prior to the meeting, the Uri and GNP had called a plenary session for 10:00 a.m., but suspended it for 12 hours as the two parties squared off over the GNP’s plan to permanently establish a special committee for budget and accounts.

Just after selecting the Assembly Speaker, the National Assembly passed two bills, “Special revision committee for the regulation of a fixed number of lawmakers in standing committees” and “Plan for organizing a special committee for National Assembly reform.”



Hoon Lee dreamland@donga.com