Friday’s plenary session will be held as planned unless the nation’s two main parties agree to delay the full parliamentary meeting by Friday morning, the National Assembly said Thursday, amid growing criticism against legislators for failing to carry out their basic duties.

Public opinion regarding the National Assembly has been growing colder in recent weeks as lawmakers have left over 7,000 draft bills pending and prescheduled annual audits of the government delayed for months due to the deadlock over the special Sewol bill.

As of 4 p.m. Thursday, no deal had been reached between the main opposition party New Politics Alliance for Democracy and the ruling Saenuri Party over the looming session, suggesting the ruling party could unilaterally hold Friday’s full session.

This means the ruling party could pass some 90 draft bills already approved by related parliamentary committees, as it holds a majority in the parliament. The Saenuri Party will also be able to set the specific timetable for the upcoming annual parliamentary audits of the government without a bipartisan consensus.

The main opposition and governing parties have been deadlocked since last month due to disagreements over the Sewol bill. The bill proposes to create a probe into the government’s alleged failure to rescue some of those killed in the Sewol disaster. NPAD lawmakers have called for giving the team legal powers comparable to those of state prosecutors while Saenuri legislators have advocated limiting such authorities.

After two failed attempts to iron out an accord, the NPAD began a boycott of legislative affairs last month. NPAD officials have vowed not to return to the parliament unless the ruling party gives in to the opposition’s demands regarding the bill.

Unconfirmed speculation that the NPAD could end their boycott without an agreement over the Sewol bill has been reported in local dailies this week.

“We’ve been requesting the ruling party postpone the session, but we have not discussed a specific alternative schedule for the coming weeks,” an NPAD official said.

“Without an alternative timetable, the speaker will hold Friday’s plenary session as previously declared,” National Assembly spokesman Choi Hyung-du said.

National Assembly speaker Rep. Chung Eui-hwa had set the plenary session for Friday last week amid the political standstill. The NPAD however has continued to ignore the set date, saying the speaker does not have the authority to call a plenary session according to the National Assembly Act, although he has the right to “write” a timetable, NPAD spokesman Kim Young-geun said last Tuesday.

“Mr. Chung does indeed have the legal authority to open a full session in the event that there is no agreement between the main parties over a set schedule,” parliamentary spokesman Choi said.

The National Assembly Act says the speaker must “consult” with the House Steering Committee concerning the timetable of the national legislature, but in the case of no bipartisan agreement over a schedule, the speaker is authorized to “determine” it.

By Jeong Hunny (hj257@heraldcorp.com)