PPP agrees to accept 7 parliamentary committee chairs set aside by DPK
PPP floor leader of the rulling People Power Party (PPP) Choo Kyung-ho, left, leaves a plenary session of the party with a solemn face at the National Assembly, June 24. Yonhap
The ruling People Power Party (PPP) agreed Monday to chair seven standing parliamentary committees, ending a weekslong boycott of all parliamentary proceedings in protest of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea's unilateral allocation of committee chairs.
The impasse in committee formation negotiations has left the National Assembly idling for nearly a month as the PPP has been boycotting all sessions after the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) unilaterally elected the Assembly speaker and selected 11 committee chiefs without consent from the PPP.
In a compromise, the DPK proposed the PPP chair the seven remaining committees.
On Monday, PPP floor leader Choo Kyung-ho announced the decision to accept the DPK's proposal that the PPP chair the national defense, strategy and finance, national policy, gender equality and family, industry and trade, foreign affairs and unification, and intelligence committees.
Earlier this month, the DPK unilaterally selected 11 parliamentary committee chiefs, including three main committees, such as the legislation and judiciary committee — a key Assembly panel that has the power to approve bills before they are put to a plenary vote. (Yonhap)