Rep. Seo Young-gyo of the Democratic Party of Korea acknowledges her election as chair of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee at a plenary session on Monday. [Yonhap]
Rep. Seo Young-gyo of the Democratic Party of Korea acknowledges her election as chair of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee at a plenary session on Monday. [Yonhap]

Rep. Seo Young-gyo of the Democratic Party of Korea, newly elected chair of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, said Tuesday that the People Power Party had "thrown a lot of tantrums" during standing committee negotiations to divert attention from its internal divisions. She added that the PPP likely welcomed National Assembly Speaker Jo Jeong-sik's decision to press ahead with the committee chair elections.

Speaking on YTN Radio's "Jang Seong-cheol's News Myeongdang" that morning, Seo said the public already knew the PPP would not be able to claim the judiciary committee chairmanship. "The PPP has not yet properly cut ties with former President Yoon Suk Yeol, and the party leader is someone who calls for 'Yoon again,'" she said.

On the possibility of the Democratic Party sweeping all 18 standing committee chairs, Seo said the party leadership had floated the idea but appeared to be working to persuade the PPP to join the committees quickly and work together.

Seo said she would move swiftly to appoint a floor manager for the judiciary committee and bring a backlog of bills to the floor. "There are many bills piling up," she said. "I will get subcommittees up and running quickly and hold plenary sessions to pass legislation, while diligently listening to civil society, the public and the voices of the vulnerable, and communicating with the government and the opposition to build consensus and advance legislation that serves the people."

She also noted that the previous National Assembly session had ended May 29 and that more than a month had passed as of Monday. "We are in an AI-driven era where the world changes at bullet speed," she said, "and there is much that the National Assembly must legislate and support quickly."

Seo added that the PPP did not oppose prosecutorial reform. "Nothing gets done by dragging things out — in fact, things can go wrong in the meantime," she said. "I will push forward quickly through intensive and vigorous engagement."


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