National Assembly elects parliamentary committee chairs, prompting backlash from PPP

The ruling Democratic Party (DP)-controlled National Assembly elected the chiefs of 10 parliamentary standing committees and a special budget committee on Tuesday, prompting backlash from the main opposition People Power Party (PPP).

The chiefs of the 11 committees, including the chair of the judiciary committee and the special committee on budget and accounts, were elected in a plenary session.

The move came after the ruling and main opposition parties failed to reach an agreement on parliamentary standing committees’ formation for the second half of the National Assembly, and the DP unilaterally recommended candidates for chiefs of the 11 committees.

The PPP criticized the move, boycotting the plenary session and vowing not to cooperate with the activation of the standing committees.

The rival parties have been wrangling for weeks over how to distribute the parliamentary committee chairmanships, with the two sides remaining especially at loggerheads regarding who should chair the judiciary committee — a key panel that has the power to approve bills before they are put to a plenary vote.

DP floor leader Han Byung-do and his PPP counterpart, Rep. Jeong Jeom-sig, sat down for last-minute talks earlier in the day but failed to reach a compromise.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Jeong stressed that “checks and balances would be undermined” unless the PPP chairs the judiciary committee.

The DP has the majority needed to unilaterally elect standing committee chiefs as it currently holds 161 out of 300 seats in the Assembly.

Assembly Speaker Cho Jeong-sik reportedly appointed members of the 10 standing committees and the special budget committee, a decision which the PPP said was made unilaterally, and the party has filed a document to the National Assembly in protest of the move.

With the rival parties already at odds over the election of chairs for the 11 committees, the road to selecting chairs for the remaining seven committees is expected to be bumpy.

Yonhap