Ruling party withdraws boycott after acceptance of 7 standing committees

On Monday, the People Power Party (PPP) accepted the seven standing committee chairs in the National Assembly that the Democratic Party of Korea had left for the ruling party. This decision effectively ended the ‘National Assembly boycott,’ which had lasted 25 days since the National Assembly opened on May 30.

The ruling party’s Floor Leader Choo Kyung-ho announced his intention to resign 47 days after his election, taking responsibility for the unsuccessful negotiations regarding the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the Steering Committee.

After a closed general meeting of lawmakers, Representative Choo issued a public statement. He expressed concern that the 11 standing committees controlled by the Democratic Party were being run according to the party's wishes without proper authority. He feared that the remaining seven standing committees would also be used solely for political strife. “I decided to join the National Assembly to prevent the Democratic Party from running away,” the floor leader said.

The ruling party is relinquishing its previous demand to return key standing committees, such as the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the Steering Committee, to the ruling party's control. Instead, they are accepting the chairmanships of the remaining seven standing committees, including the Planning and Finance Committee and the National Defense Committee. During the closed-door general meeting, Floor Leader Choo expressed his intent to resign as floor leader, acknowledging his failure to protect the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the Steering Committee.


Jun-Il Kim jikim@donga.com