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| Party for Democracy and Peace deputy floor leader Lee Yong-ju, left, and Justice Party deputy floor leader Youn So-ha shake hands before announcing an agreement to form a joint negotiating bloc at the National Assembly, Thursday. / Yonhap |
By Park Ji-won
Two minor parties agreed, Thursday, to form a negotiating bloc to strengthen their voices in legislative debates regarding changes to the Constitution.
The Party for Democracy and Peace (PDP) with 14 seats and the Justice Party with six seats have agreed to establish a negotiating bloc requiring at least 20 seats in the 293-member National Assembly beginning in early April, their floor leaders said during a press conference. The PDP already approved the alliance, while the Justice Party plans to approve it Saturday.
The Justice Party's floor leader Roh Hoe-chan was nominated as the first chairman of the group, which was tentatively named the "Lawmakers for Peace and Justice."
Asked about the constitutional revision, Lee Yong-ju, spokesman and vice floor leader of the PDP said, "both parties vowed to take action together as we each have our own revision bills and we share common ground on a large scale."
"Justice Party floor leader Roh and one committee member from the special committee for constitutional reform will participate in the revision process," Lee added.
According to the agreement, the two parties will take action together in legislative activities, including the upcoming constitutional revision, the passage of the government budget and the redrawing of precincts, focusing on eight political themes.
The themes cover peace on the Korean peninsula, the revision of the constitution and the election system, legislators without privilege, the creation of jobs, the food sovereignty, protection of small- and medium-sized firms, the support of the #MeToo movement and the reform of authoritarian government organization.
Mentioning the idea of them joining of hands in the local elections on June 13, the two party representatives drew a line and refused to mix up the two parties' nominees. They emphasized that the two parties never discussed joining hands in the June election on this agreement.
Also, the two parties can withdraw from the bloc with one-month prior notice.
The parties' joint bloc will be the fourth largest in the legislature following the ruling Democratic Party, the main opposition Liberty Korea Party and the Bareun Mirae Party.
So far, the PDP and Justice Party, which have 14 and six lawmakers, respectively, haven't been able to participate in key legislative negotiations, as each party alone cannot create a negotiating bloc having fewer than 20 legislators, as they each do.
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