Cho's faxed committee appointments abandon compromise

National Assembly Speaker Cho Jeong-sik unilaterally drew up a list of assignments for standing committees, including that of opposition lawmakers, and notified the People Power Party (PPP) by fax. It is true that the terms of standing committee members for the first half of the 22nd National Assembly expired at the end of May, and that the speaker was permitted under the National Assembly Act to make appointments after the PPP ignored two requests to submit its list.

But sending the proposal by fax to the opposition floor leader's office without any face-to-face consultation cannot be described as fulfilling the speaker's duty. In fact, it was closer to abandoning his responsibility to mediate the differences between the ruling and opposition parties to build consensus and ensure the Assembly's smooth operation.

This was predictable. During the Democratic Party's (DP) internal race for speakership, Cho declared that he valued "speed over cooperation." The speaker leaves their party precisely to mediate partisan conflict and protect parliamentary democracy. But from the start, Cho appeared to be running the Assembly for the ruling party.

The biggest obstacle in forming committees is the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. Because the committee serves as the final gateway before bills approved by other standing committees reach the plenary, it has functioned as a safeguard against unilateral action by the majority. Since the 17th National Assembly, the largest party has traditionally taken the speakership while the second-largest party has chaired the legislation committee.

That trend was broken in the 21st National Assembly, when the DP took the chairmanship for the first half. This time, too, the party is trying to use its numbers to keep the post from the opposition.

The DP may want to make its sweep of committee chairmanships a new normal under the banners of "the efficient operation of the Assembly" or "responsible politics." But excluding the minority and pushing bills through while controlling the legislation committee is majoritarian overreach.

If the DP uses that power to pass bills — including a special counsel bill over alleged fabricated indictments — sought by the administration, it could face a political boomerang from voters already alienated after the controversial June 3 local elections. It would also give the opposition a pretext to boycott the Assembly altogether.

The DP should return to sincere negotiations with the opposition, and Cho should show responsibility by seeking compromise until the end. The Assembly should remember why it once established the tradition of giving the legislation committee chair to the opposition and what has happened since that tradition was broken.