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SEOUL, June 30 (Yonhap) — The ruling Democratic Party (DP)-controlled National Assembly on Tuesday elected the chiefs of 10 parliamentary standing committees and a special budget committee, prompting opposition 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 the formation of the parliamentary standing committees 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.
Assembly Speaker Cho Jeong-sik announces the election results of parliamentary standing committee chiefs in a plenary session at the National Assembly in Seoul on June 30, 2026. (Yonhap)
The rival parties have been wrangling for weeks over how to distribute the parliamentary committee chairmanships, with the two sides remaining especially at loggerheads over who should chair the judiciary committee, a key Assembly panel that has the power to approve bills before they are put to a plenary vote.
DP floor leader Han Byung-do and his main opposition 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 process to select chairs for the remaining seven committees is also expected to be a bumpy road.
Main opposition People Power Party (PPP) floor leader Rep. Jeong Jeom-sig and other PPP lawmakers hold signs criticizing the Democratic Party’s push to unilaterally appoint standing committee chiefs at the National Assembly in Seoul on June 30, 2026. (Yonhap)
julesyi@yna.co.kr
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