Han Byung-do, acting leader and floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, speaks at the general meeting of lawmakers held at the National Assembly on the 29th. [Yonhap News] 

The Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) has moved to unilaterally process the motion for electing the chairs of standing committees for the second half of the National Assembly at a plenary session scheduled for the 30th.

At a general meeting of lawmakers held at the National Assembly on the 29th, Acting Leader and Floor Leader Han Byung-do addressed the stalled negotiations on the formation of the National Assembly, stating, "As the ruling party and the largest party in the National Assembly, the Democratic Party must make a responsible decision," adding, "It will by no means go beyond tomorrow."

He further urged, "We will complete the formation of the second half of the National Assembly within this month and create a productive legislature," and requested, "All lawmakers should be on emergency standby starting this afternoon."

While the ruling and opposition parties have been negotiating the formation of the 22nd National Assembly, including the distribution of standing committee chairs, discussions have remained deadlocked as both sides insist on holding the position of Legislation and Judiciary Committee Chair.

In response, National Assembly Speaker Cho Jung-sik requested that the People Power Party (PPP) submit its opinion on standing committee assignments by noon today; however, the PPP is vehemently protesting, characterizing it as a unilateral distribution procedure.

PPP Floor Leader Chung Jeum-sik criticized the move at their general meeting of lawmakers, saying, "Until now, Speaker Cho and the Democratic Party have notified us of a list of standing committee assignments without offering any proposals or negotiation plans," and questioned, "How can the Democratic Party have the audacity to take the Legislation and Judiciary Committee chair again?"

It is reported that Speaker Cho has notified both parties of his plan to hold a plenary session on the 30th.

If the plenary session is held, it is expected that the Democratic Party will attempt to unilaterally pass the motion to elect the standing committee chairs.

However, it appears that no final decision has been reached regarding whether the Democratic Party will elect chairs for all 18 standing committees or prioritize the processing of only a select few.

Floor Spokesperson Lee Joo-hee told reporters, "We did not discuss or decide at the general meeting to take all standing committees," adding, "There are several possible scenarios."

She added, "The matter has been delegated to the leadership, and we are not in a situation to discuss whether or not to elect all 18."

Meanwhile, at the general meeting, the Democratic Party adopted as its party platform the push for a special counsel investigation to uncover the truth behind the ballot shortage incident during the June 3 local elections.

Spokesperson Lee stated, "It was decided that the specific details of the special counsel bill would be delegated to the leadership for later ratification," adding, "The push for a special counsel was adopted as a party platform by unanimous consent."

In his opening remarks, Acting Leader Han emphasized, "As we have taken the first step toward uncovering the truth through a parliamentary investigation, an independent special counsel investigation is necessary to reveal details regarding dereliction of duty, false reporting, and evasion of responsibility," adding, "We will uncover the truth of the situation to the end and unswervingly push for institutional improvements to prevent a recurrence."