The 22nd National Assembly formally kicked off with an opening ceremony Monday, more than three months after it came into operation, with President Yoon Suk Yeol skipping the ceremony amid tensions with the opposition.
Yoon’s decision to sit out the ceremony to open the new Assembly and its first regular session came amid the opposition party’s push to pass controversial bills unilaterally. It marked the first time since 1987 that a president was absent from such a ceremony.
“I am sorry to the people for the delayed opening ceremony,” Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik said in an address after all lawmakers had taken their oaths. “Even Assembly members’ oath-taking, which is compulsory under the National Assembly Act, took place only now. As speaker, I feel a heavy sense of responsibility.”
Members of the National Assembly take their oaths at a belated ceremony marking the opening of the 22nd National Assembly at the parliament’s plenary chamber in Seoul on Sept. 2, 2024. (Yonhap)
The 22nd Assembly was inaugu
rated on May 30, but it took 95 days for the official opening ceremony to take place — the longest delay since 1987.
The ceremony, originally set for July 5, was previously boycotted by the ruling People Power Party amid intense partisan strife over a special counsel probe bill and a hearing over Yoon’s impeachment petition.
The ceremony had been put off indefinitely, until the rival parties agreed to hold the event in conjunction with the start of the 22nd Assembly’s first regular session.
The unicameral parliament opens its regular session every September for 100 days. Monday’s regular session is the first under the 22nd Assembly after the country held its general elections in April.
“Without respecting the National Assembly, there can be no achievements in state administration,” Woo said in remarks apparently targeting Yoon. “Listening carefully to the voice of the National Assembly is the government’s path to success.”
During the regular session, the rival parties are expected to bicker over the gov
ernment’s 2025 budget proposal of 677 trillion won (US$505 billion), a 3.2 percent hike from the previous year, with the main opposition Democratic Party calling for massive cuts.
On livelihood issues, the rival parties are likely to clash over controversial bills, including legislation on distributing cash handouts to the entire population and a bill mandating a special counsel investigation into the military’s response to a Marine’s death.
The rival party leaders held their first official talks Sunday and agreed on a set of livelihood-related issues in a rare show of bipartisan cooperation but failed to reach an agreement on some key agendas.
Woo again proposed the formation of a social dialogue body involving the government, the rival parties, medical community representatives and patients to jointly find a solution to an ongoing standoff over the government’s medical reforms.
He also reiterated his call for discussions on amending the Constitution while stressing the need to update the political and e
lectoral system and complete bipartisan negotiations on reforming the state pension system.
Additionally, Woo called for establishing a special parliamentary committee to handle climate issues with the authority to review relevant legislation.
Source: Yonhap News Agency
