Ruling and opposition parties remain deadlocked over National Assembly committee lineup as deadline looms

[Financial News] The ruling and opposition parties are locked in a standoff over negotiations on the National Assembly committee lineup for the second half of the 22nd Assembly, with neither side willing to give ground. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea says it is prepared to take control of all standing committees if no agreement is reached by the 18th, while the People Power Party is refusing to back down from its demand to secure the chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, the main point of contention in the talks.
At a National Assembly Policy Coordination Meeting on the day, Han Byung-do urged the People Power Party, saying, "There is no more time or justification to delay negotiations on the committee lineup." He added, "We need to sit down today, settle this quickly, and launch a National Assembly that works for the people right away."
Referring to the failure to narrow differences over the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee at a meeting between the ruling and opposition floor leadership the previous day, Han said, "Negotiations are never easy, but we do not have much time left." He added, "The door to talks is wide open. If the People Power Party comes with a reasonable alternative, we are willing to sit down and work it out." The Democratic Party is sticking to its position that the ruling party should hold the committee chair. However, some analysts say the party is also feeling pressure over the possibility of taking control of all standing committees, especially as the People Power Party's approval ratings have recently been rising after the local elections.
The People Power Party, meanwhile, is making control of the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee a precondition for any agreement on the committee lineup. Jeong Jeom-sik, floor leader of the People Power Party, said at the Supreme Council meeting of the National Assembly that he was "deeply disappointed" with the outcome of the previous day's meeting.
Jeong argued, "The Democratic Party wants to hold the chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and push through a special counsel bill on dropping indictments on its own, or pressure prosecutors through the committee to force those indictments to be dropped." He added, "Our people sent a strong warning through the local elections that dropping indictments is not acceptable, and this means the party is refusing to listen."
He went on to say, "If the committee is not returned to where it belongs, normalization of the second half of the 22nd National Assembly will be difficult, and the Lee Jae Myung administration's legislative dominance, led by the committee, will continue."
As the two sides failed to narrow their differences over the chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, expectations are fading that they will reach an agreement on the committee lineup within the 18th deadline proposed by the Democratic Party.
Lee Joo-hee, the Democratic Party floor spokesperson, told reporters after the party's policy coordination meeting that "at this point, it is unclear whether the committee lineup talks can be completed today." She added, however, that "additional meetings are needed to consult with the opposition, and we will continue to engage in negotiations."
jiwon.song@fnnews.com Song Ji-won Reporter