Han Byung-do, acting chair and floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, speaks during a policy coordination meeting Thursday at the National Assembly in Seoul. Photo by Asia Today
July 9 (Asia Today) -- The People Power Party is facing a growing strategic dilemma as the ruling Democratic Party of Korea continues its legislative drive by using its majority in the National Assembly.
The Democratic Party has already elected the chairs of 11 parliamentary standing committees on its own, including the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. The opposition People Power Party has continued its boycott in protest, but party officials are weighing whether staying away makes it harder to block legislation or returning to committees would still leave them unable to overcome the ruling party's numerical advantage.
The dilemma has deepened as the Democratic Party moves ahead with follow-up legislation on prosecution reform, including a revision to the Criminal Procedure Act that would abolish prosecutors' supplementary investigation authority.
The People Power Party has protested the ruling party's unilateral election of committee chairs and its handling of the committee formation process. But given the current seat distribution, it is not easy for the opposition party to prevent the Democratic Party from passing bills on its own.
