The Democratic Party of Korea failed to reach an agreement with the People Power Party over the formation of the latter half of the 22nd National Assembly, even after the noon deadline on the 26th set by the National Assembly speaker. With the People Power Party not issuing a separate position, there is talk that the Democratic Party could move to a solo handling of the matter, as it convenes an emergency general meeting of lawmakers and places all lawmakers on emergency standby.
Democratic Party lawmaker Han Byeong-do met with reporters at about 2:57 p.m. on the 26th after finishing a meeting with the National Assembly speaker and said, "In the end, there was no answer from the People Power Party by today," and "We could not wait any longer, so we strongly requested that the deliberation and voting procedures be carried out to form the 18 standing committees."
Accordingly, the Democratic Party plans to convene an emergency general meeting of lawmakers on the 29th and then place all lawmakers on emergency standby. Under the National Assembly Act, the formation of the house is done through a plenary vote, and standing committee chairs are elected by a majority of registered members present and a majority of those present voting in favor. Given the current seat distribution, the Democratic Party can pass measures on its own by a majority, so if a plenary session opens, it can proceed with the formation procedures on its own.
Floor leader Han said, "After the emergency general meeting on the 29th, we will go into full emergency standby and gather everyone in Seoul, and we will make sure to handle this within this month," adding, "Although the specific time has not been set, we will immediately begin procedures to form the standing committees."
Regarding the outcome of the meeting with the National Assembly speaker, floor leader Han said, "There was no definitive answer from the speaker; we only conveyed our request." As for the possibility of additional negotiations over the weekend, Han said, "We will not let go of the thread of communication and will continue consultations."
Amid this situation, the speaker's office also began procedures related to forming the standing committees. Jang Hyeon-ju, senior public relations secretary at the National Assembly, said on the 26th, "We sent an official document arbitrarily appointing (members) in the name of the National Assembly speaker," adding, "We asked that opinions be submitted by noon on the 29th." However, Jang said that if there is no response by the deadline, "Nothing has been decided yet," explaining, "It is the speaker's position to hear the opinions of both parties by the 29th."
The ruling and opposition parties remain in conflict without narrowing their differences over the allocation of the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee chair, the core sticking point.