National Assembly Speaker Jo Jeong-sik announces the voting results for the six standing committee chairs allocated to the opposition parties for the second half of the 22nd National Assembly during the second plenary session of the July extraordinary session held at the National Assembly on the 23rd. The Gender Equality and Family Committee chair, one of the slots allocated to the People Power Party (PPP), was not elected on this day as Representative Im Lee-ja, who had been confirmed as the candidate, resigned. [Yonhap News] 

Uproar broke out within the People Power Party (PPP) on the 23rd as some lawmakers protested against the party leadership with shouting and even physical altercations over the assignment of standing committee positions for the second half of the parliamentary term.

The PPP notified its members of their standing committee assignments for the next two years during the National Assembly plenary session on the day, around the time the party's candidates for standing committee chairs were being elected.

Following the announcement, some lawmakers expressed strong discontent with the party leadership, claiming they were not assigned to their preferred committees.

Rep. Kwon Young-jin, a two-term lawmaker from Daegu, reportedly visited floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik after the plenary session concluded that afternoon to demand an explanation regarding the principles of the committee assignments and raise strong objections.

During this process, Rep. Kwon raised his voice, shouting, "Jeong Jeom-sik, come here," and his yelling was audible to reporters outside the office. It was reported that the protest escalated into a physical confrontation with the floor leader.

As the situation worsened, Floor Leader Jeong said, "Calm down and come back later" and "How could you grab the floor leader by the collar just because you didn't get the committee you wanted?" Nearby lawmakers also attempted to intervene, but Rep. Kwon reportedly continued his protest, stating, "Explain what the principles for committee assignments are" and "I would grab you by the collar ten times. You are doing whatever you want."

After the situation ended, Floor Leader Jeong left the office and told reporters only, "I do not think it is appropriate to discuss internal party matters in this manner," before departing.

In a phone call with Yonhap News regarding the incident, Rep. Kwon said, "I went to the floor leader to convey the complaints of many lawmakers and to protest against 'principle-less committee assignments.'" He added, "I told the floor leader, 'How can the party be united if those who are close to you or are considered powerful figures in the party break the rules to secure spots in good committees multiple times, while those who followed the rules are made into fools?'"

The explanation is that among many lawmakers who vied for popular committees like the National Policy Committee, the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, and the Trade, Industry and Energy Committee, some members were repeatedly assigned to these sought-after posts, leading to complaints of unfairness among the parliamentary group.

Rep. Kwon added, "As a National Assembly member, it is only natural to strongly protest when I go to convey lawmakers' complaints regarding committee assignments to the floor leader and he responds by saying, 'I am not responsible; ask the senior deputy floor leader.'"

Earlier in the day, another two-term lawmaker from the Yeongnam region reportedly approached Senior Deputy Floor Leader Kim Seung-soo around the time of the general meeting of lawmakers, expressing strong dissatisfaction with the assignments, asking, "Do you have no sense of shame?"

In response, an official from the party leadership stated, "The authority for committee assignments lies solely with the floor leader. It is impossible to satisfy everyone," noting that there would be no changes to the assignments.

One lawmaker who witnessed the scene told a reporter, "Grabbing a colleague by the collar because you are dissatisfied with committee assignments is behavior unworthy of a National Assembly member."

An official from the floor leader’s office also commented, "If there is no official apology, disciplinary action is a matter of course. One must distinguish between expressing a protest and committing acts of violence."