New legislature stuck in its old habits

The 22nd National Assembly on Tuesday elected Rep. Woo Won-shik, a former floor leader of the majority Democratic Party (DP), as speaker of the new legislature. The governing People Power Party (PPP) did not attend the opening session to protest the DP’s unilateral election process. The PPP didn’t even name its candidate for vice speaker. During the 21st Assembly, all members of the United Future Party, the predecessor of the PPP, were present in the opening session and then retreated from the chamber shortly before the vote to elect speaker and vice speaker.

The two major parties have disappointed people this time, too, rather than giving hope to them. It could be a part of their heated battle over the chairmanships of the mighty Legislation and Judiciary Committee, the House Steering Committee, and the Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee. But the PPP should have attended Tuesday’s full meeting to elect the head of the legislature. The National Assembly Act mandates that lawmakers elect their leaders in their first full meeting and then elect heads of the 17 standing committees within three days. It could have been better if they had reached a compromise earlier. If lawmakers do not respect the National Assembly Act, how can they demand abiding by laws from the public?

The bills the new lawmakers proposed less than a week after the opening of the Assembly are even more dumbfounding. Five special motions with political motives were submitted over the past five days. That’s unprecedented. After the DP submitted motions to appoint special prosecutors to investigate the presidential office’s alleged pressure on the military investigation on the suspicious death of a Marine and look into the first lady’s acceptance of a luxury handbag from a mysterious pastor, the PPP in return submitted a special motion to investigate the former first lady’s extravagant trip to India. An independent counsel is appointed only when law enforcement agencies’ investigation fell short of expectations. Submitting special motions with political intentions is wrong. The DP must not cause any more distrust from people.

The new speaker stressed the importance of “following agreed rules” and “having social dialogue” to realize what people want. He is right. The chief of the legislature must not represent the interests of his own party. He has an obligation to check the president and the executive branch, but must not be swayed by radical followers of the DP.

The speaker must aggressively present a compromise between the two parties instead of sitting on the fence. He must lead legislation for the country’s future amid fierce global competitions.