Deadline for Assembly formation must be mandatory
Despite the public's ardent longing for cooperative governance since the April 13 general election, the 20th National Assembly has continued the dishonorable tradition of failing to form the parliament in time.
The ruling and opposition parties convened the 20th Assembly's first extraordinary session, Tuesday, to meet the legal deadline for the formation of the legislature. But they failed to reach agreement over which parties should fill the positions of the speaker and chairmanships of key standing committees.
Since a constitutional revision in 1987, not a single Assembly has met the parliamentary deadline, and it took as many as 125 days for the 14th legislature to finish its parliamentary formation in 1988.
The ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea (MPK) were particularly at odds over Assembly speaker and chairmanships of the parliamentary steering, judiciary and budget committees.
The Saenuri Party said it should appoint the speaker, alleging that the post has customarily been taken by the ruling party so far with very few exceptions. The MPK, which emerged as the largest party in the April polls, countered that the No. 1 party in terms of the number of lawmakers must have priority in picking the speaker.
Fortunately, the deadlock was broken Wednesday as Rep. Chung Jin-suk, the governing party's floor leader, said his party would yield the Assembly speaker post to the opposition party. Later on Wednesday, the rival parties agreed on details of the parliamentary formation.
Nonetheless, the Saenuri Party should be blamed for causing the parliament to be crippled, oblivious to its demotion as the second-largest party and shirking its tremendous responsibility as the ruling party. However, the MPK can't avoid criticism, either, for having tried to win excessive gains, relying on its slim superiority in the number of legislators.
It's long overdue for the two main parties to finish forming the new parliament and perform their proper duties. Delaying the formation of the legislature is an act of reneging on the will of the people who want the new Assembly to function properly to improve people's livelihoods. In fact, nearly 100 bills, which have already been submitted to the parliament, are stuck without undergoing deliberation, and it's impossible for government officials to brief lawmakers on major pending issues, including corporate restructuring in the shipbuilding and shipping industries.
All this raises the need to fundamentally resolve the habitually belated formation of the legislature that has lasted for nearly three decades. Therefore, the National Assembly Act needs to be revised in such a way as to oblige the main parties to reach a consensus within a certain time limit instead of purely relying on the parties' voluntary agreement.
In preparation for the delayed formation of the parliament, it will also be necessary to adopt a provision enabling a lawmaker with most consecutive terms from the largest party to serve as the acting speaker until the new Assembly speaker is elected.
Despite the public's ardent longing for cooperative governance since the April 13 general election, the 20th National Assembly has continued the dishonorable tradition of failing to form the parliament in time.
The ruling and opposition parties convened the 20th Assembly's first extraordinary session, Tuesday, to meet the legal deadline for the formation of the legislature. But they failed to reach agreement over which parties should fill the positions of the speaker and chairmanships of key standing committees.
Since a constitutional revision in 1987, not a single Assembly has met the parliamentary deadline, and it took as many as 125 days for the 14th legislature to finish its parliamentary formation in 1988.
The ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea (MPK) were particularly at odds over Assembly speaker and chairmanships of the parliamentary steering, judiciary and budget committees.
The Saenuri Party said it should appoint the speaker, alleging that the post has customarily been taken by the ruling party so far with very few exceptions. The MPK, which emerged as the largest party in the April polls, countered that the No. 1 party in terms of the number of lawmakers must have priority in picking the speaker.
Fortunately, the deadlock was broken Wednesday as Rep. Chung Jin-suk, the governing party's floor leader, said his party would yield the Assembly speaker post to the opposition party. Later on Wednesday, the rival parties agreed on details of the parliamentary formation.
Nonetheless, the Saenuri Party should be blamed for causing the parliament to be crippled, oblivious to its demotion as the second-largest party and shirking its tremendous responsibility as the ruling party. However, the MPK can't avoid criticism, either, for having tried to win excessive gains, relying on its slim superiority in the number of legislators.
It's long overdue for the two main parties to finish forming the new parliament and perform their proper duties. Delaying the formation of the legislature is an act of reneging on the will of the people who want the new Assembly to function properly to improve people's livelihoods. In fact, nearly 100 bills, which have already been submitted to the parliament, are stuck without undergoing deliberation, and it's impossible for government officials to brief lawmakers on major pending issues, including corporate restructuring in the shipbuilding and shipping industries.
All this raises the need to fundamentally resolve the habitually belated formation of the legislature that has lasted for nearly three decades. Therefore, the National Assembly Act needs to be revised in such a way as to oblige the main parties to reach a consensus within a certain time limit instead of purely relying on the parties' voluntary agreement.
In preparation for the delayed formation of the parliament, it will also be necessary to adopt a provision enabling a lawmaker with most consecutive terms from the largest party to serve as the acting speaker until the new Assembly speaker is elected.
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