Major parties at loggerheads over committee seats, disputed UPP lawmakers


The 19th National Assembly got off to a rough start Wednesday, overshadowed by scandals, partisan strife and ideological accusations.

Business at the parliament with 300 members including 147 first-timers looks to remain on hold for the time being as the ruling and opposition parties still differ over how to dole out standing committees.

Politicking has been escalating between the ruling Saenuri Party and main opposition Democratic United Party ahead of the Dec. 19 presidential election. The third-largest Unified Progressive Party is on the verge of collapse amid simmering disputes over election fraud and criticism of its core members’ leftist views.

Prospects for the first extraordinary session were bleak as the Saenuri Party and the DUP remained at odds over how to compose the standing committees. The senior deputy floor leaders of the two parties met in the afternoon and agreed to hold a brief session on June 5, but remained at odds over the Assembly composition.

The delays in parliamentary formation have been chronic with it taking an average of 44 days since the 13th Assembly. It took 88 days to form the preceding Assembly.

Leaders of the parties, nonetheless, stressed the need to move toward a constructive parliament.

“I would like to propose that rather than insulting rivals at the frustration of the people, we show them how we take care of the people’s livelihood and protect the nation,” Saenuri floor leader Lee Hahn-koo said at a party meeting.

DUP floor leader Park Jie-won also noted “public livelihood” as the priority in his address at a morning meeting, while also highlighting the party’s drive for the next presidency.

“We name this National Assembly the Assembly to prepare for the seizure of power and to revitalize the economy. I reaffirm our determination to accomplish the change of administration without fail to get back the lost hope and smiles of the people.”

The Saenuri and the DUP are mainly tussling over who will chair the key standing committees such as the Culture, Sports, Tourism, Broadcasting and Communications Committee, Legislation and Judiciary Committee, Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs Committee and the National Policy Committee. The DUP demands to chair at least one of these politically-sensitive committees with high influence over the administration. The Saenuri, in turn, is offering to toss any committee over to the DUP other than the major ones, and also hopes to head the Judiciary Committee usually chaired by the opposition party. How to assign committees to controversial UPP members accused of being pro-North remains a sticking point as well.

The DUP is also demanding a parliamentary investigation into the government’s illegal surveillance of civilians and on-going media strikes.

Earlier, the parties were at odds over the Assembly’s speaker, appointed by the ruling party. Two vice speakers are each designated by the ruling and opposition party. Designations of speakers customarily go hand-in-hand with the committee composition as a negotiating card.

Opposition parties have been lambasting Rep. Kang Chang-hee, one of the Saenuri candidates for the post, as unfit.

He was a member of Hanahoe, a group of military officers led by ex-President Chun Doo-hwan that staged a coup on Dec. 12, 1979.

“It is an insult to the National Assembly that a former Hanahoe member is even thinking of becoming a speaker,” said UPP interim chairman Kang Ki-kab.

In response, six-term lawmaker Kang said at a press conference on Wednesday, “It is not important when I started politics but what kind of politics that I did.” Kang will run against Rep. Chung Ui-hwa in a vote by Saenuri lawmakers this Friday.

Some scandal-ridden lawmakers are also hampering the smooth opening of the new parliament, namely Lee Seog-gi and Kim Jae-yeon of the UPP for alleged vote rigging, along with former Saenuri members Kim Hyung-tae, suspected of sexual assault, and Moon Dae-sung, for allegedly plagiarizing his thesis.

In the meantime, the first bill for the new Assembly was submitted by first-term Saenuri member Rep. Kim Jung-rok. The bill to enact a law to support and protect the rights of people suffering from developmental disabilities was signed by 13 other members.

The two main parties also each announced a list of priority bills aimed at improving welfare and public livelihood to be presented and discussed during the extraordinary session.

By Lee Joo-hee (jhl@heraldcorp.com