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Korea Herald

[Editorial] Be consistent

President Lee emphasizes cooperation, but ruling Democratic Party acts unilaterally Contrary to the Korean people's expectations for political parties to pursue the politics of integration under a new administration, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea is acting as it pleases. Just one day after President Lee Jae Myung emphasized communication with the opposition in his speech on Thursday, calling for the passage of an extra budget bill, the Democratic Party monopolized the leadership of four major committees. The opposition People Power Party had demanded the National Assembly first elect the chair of the standing Special Committee on Budget and Accounts to process the budget bill and later elect the chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. But Speaker Woo Won-shik accepted the ruling party's demand for the simultaneous election of four committee chairs. Eventually in the Assembly plenary session on Friday, which the People Power Party boycotted in protest, the Democratic Party elected its own lawmakers as chairs of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, the House Steering Committee and the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee. The Democratic Party and the People Power Party had negotiated over the election of committee chairs for 10 days after electing their new floor leaders. However, the Democratic Party was unwilling to concede the leadership of any key committees, such as the legislation and budget committees, to the People Power Party. As an opposition party in the days of President Yoon Suk Yeol, the Democratic Party was able to shape the legislative and budget review processes to its advantage by chairing the judiciary and budget committees. The Legislation and Judiciary Committee is the final gateway for every bill before it goes to a plenary vote. Its chair has the final say on whether to advance a bill to the plenary session and sets the schedule for the bill's review. In a bid to establish checks and balances in the National Assembly, legislators have made it a customary practice since 2004 to elect a lawmaker of the majority party as speaker and a lawmaker of the largest minority party as chairperson of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. But in the first half of the current Assembly, the Democratic Party has occupied both the speakership and the leadership of the judiciary committee, breaking with the established practice of parliamentary democracy. Shortly after being elected chair of the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, Rep. Han Byung-do unilaterally announced the schedule for processing the extra budget. He ignored the customary procedure of selecting committee members from rival parties and then holding consultations with them before setting the budget processing schedule. The Democratic Party is poised to push through controversial bills unilaterally. The party has selected 40 bills to prioritize, including revisions to the Commercial Act, the Grain Management Act and the Labor Union Act. It is also reportedly considering revising laws on the governance structure of public broadcasting networks. The bills were drawn up to meet the demands of the party's supporters. It is believed that the broadcasting law revision would give the party more power. President Lee emphasized integration, and vowed to cooperate with the opposition in his presidential inaugural speech. In the budget address, he said that the nation could start anew if political parties recognize their differences and embrace them. After the address, he walked over to the section for the People Power Party to shake hands with its lawmakers. He gave the impression that he would work with the opposition. But the Democratic Party has not changed its hard-line stance against the People Power Party. Dialogue is gone. The People Power Party's demands were ignored. The ruling party processed bills and other matters unilaterally. The election of the four committee chairs was just the beginning. Lee speaks about cooperation, but the party acts one-sidedly. There is growing cynicism about the inconsistency of their words and actions. Unless the more powerful side makes concessions, the politics of cooperation is impossible.