2024.06.05. The Fair Economy — The opposition opened the National Assembly session on its own amid the ruling party's absence. This is a first in South Korea's constitutional history. The ruling People Power Party immediately protested.
With the floor leaders of the ruling and opposition parties failing to reach an agreement on forming the legislative committees ahead of the plenary session, the opposition held the session alone and elected Rep. Woo Won-sik as Speaker of the National Assembly for the first half of the term.
Observers note that this is the first time since the Constituent Assembly that the National Assembly has opened solely by the opposition, without the ruling party's participation — an event unprecedented in constitutional history.
With the People Power Party boycotting the plenary session, its floor leader, Choo Kyung-ho, criticized the move at the "June 5 Rally to Condemn the Forced Plenary Session," saying, "This plenary session was held unilaterally by the Democratic Party as a show of force, without any agreement between the ruling and opposition parties."
Bae Jun-yeong, the People Power Party's chief deputy floor leader, also said, "Even the first plenary session of the 22nd National Assembly was unilaterally forced through by the Democratic Party without any agreement on the agenda. They have reduced even the election of the Assembly speaker — who leads the legislature and represents the National Assembly — to a Democratic Party caucus meeting."
By contrast, Park Seong-jun, the Democratic Party's chief deputy floor leader, said in opening remarks at the plenary session, "The fact that the People Power Party is delaying the organization of the legislature once again proves that the ruling party has been acting as a rubber stamp, deferring to the presidential office."
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