The 22nd National Assembly is already facing disruptions, just 10 days into its term, as the two main rival parties clashed, Tuesday, over the majority-holding main opposition Democratic Party of Korea’s (DPK) unilateral appointments of the heads of parliamentary standing committees.
In response, the ruling People Power Party (PPP) tabled a resolution demanding Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik’s resignation.
It claimed Woo, hailing from the DPK, violated the speaker’s obligation of neutrality by allowing the opposition party to unilaterally appoint standing committee chairpersons and randomly assign PPP members to the committee during a late-night plenary 카지노 session the previous day. PPP lawmakers boycotted the session.
The PPP’s 108 lawmakers held a general meeting on Tuesday, during which they unanimously agreed to the resolution, which was later submitted to the Assembly’s legislation office.
“The speaker violated his obligation of neutrality through biased proceedings during a plenary session the day before,” the resolution read.
“Furthermore he severely infringed on the voting and deliberation rights of lawmakers by forcibly assigning them into standing committees, thereby committing a serious abuse of power that significantly undermines parliamentary democracy.”
A resolution, being a non-binding political statement, means that Woo’s speakership will remain unaffected even if it is adopted. However, it highlights a stark partisan divide and underscores the serious asymmetric power dynamics disadvantaging the ruling party.