National Assembly stalled for a month as ruling, opposition parties dig in over committee posts

By Joo So-hyun, The Herald Business

The National Assembly has been effectively paralyzed for a month as the Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party remain deadlocked over the formation of the legislature's second-half committee structure. The Democratic Party is ratcheting up pressure, vowing to push through the matter before the end of June, while the PPP is holding firm and pledging to mount a resistance campaign. Speaker Cho Jung-sik has responded with a dramatic move, unilaterally assigning committee seats to PPP lawmakers.

Both parties plan to convene separate emergency caucuses Monday to map out their next steps in response to the prolonged impasse, according to political sources. The Democratic Party has said it will unilaterally elect the chairs of all 18 standing committees at a plenary session if talks remain unresolved, in order to get the second-half Assembly up and running. Floor leader Han Byung-do said the party would convene a caucus Monday and put all lawmakers on emergency standby "to ensure this is resolved before the end of the month, without fail."

The PPP is standing its ground, insisting it must secure the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee as a condition for any deal, and vowing to fight the ruling party. Floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik said his party still maintained that "checks and balances within the Assembly are only possible if our party holds the chairmanship of the legislation committee," adding that he intended to brief lawmakers on the situation at the caucus and "work out a plan to fight together."

Speaker Cho had set two deadlines — June 24 and June 26 — for the parties to submit their committee membership lists, but waited no longer. He sent an official notice to PPP lawmakers informing them of their unilateral committee assignments and asking that any objections be submitted by noon Monday. Jang Hyeon-ju, the speaker's chief communications officer, said Cho was determined to complete the Assembly's organizational formation within June, adding that the timing of a plenary session would remain "somewhat fluid depending on what comes out of the two parties' caucuses and how they proceed with consultations."

The Assembly has been at a near-standstill for roughly a month since the terms of first-half standing committee chairs and members expired May 29. Under the Assembly Act, parties are required to request the speaker to appoint second-half committee members before first-half terms expire. If membership lists are not submitted three days before the expiration date, the speaker may make appointments by authority. The two parties only began negotiations June 11, citing the June 3 local elections and the selection of new second-half Assembly leadership and a new PPP floor leadership as reasons for the delay, but talks have since stalled over the judiciary committee chairmanship.

Although the Democratic Party has signaled it could sweep all 18 standing committee chairmanships to force the issue, there are signs within and outside the party that following through would not be easy. President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating has hit a new low since the local elections, and the narrowing gap in party approval ratings between the Democratic Party and the PPP adds to the political cost. The Democratic Party did elect all standing committee chairs on three separate occasions during the first half of the 21st National Assembly in 2020, but redistributed them according to seat ratios roughly 14 months later.

There is also speculation that the party may consider first electing only the 10 to 11 committee chairs allocated to its own share, then watching how the PPP responds. With the Democratic Party scheduled to hold a lawmakers' workshop July 3 to discuss second-half Assembly operations, July 2 is increasingly seen as the hard deadline for completing the organizational formation.