Chung named Assembly speaker

Chung Sye-kyun, center, new National Assembly speaker, poses with new vice speakers ― Rep. Shim Jae-cheol of the ruling Saenuri Party, left, and Rep. Park Joo-sun of the minor opposition People’s Party ― after they were endorsed at a National Assembly session, Thursday. Chung gave up his parliamentary seat and left the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea to serve the post for two years under parliamentary rules. / Korea Times photo by Oh Dae-geun

By Kim Hyo-jin

Rep. Chung Sye-kyun, a six-term lawmaker of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea (MPK), was chosen as speaker of the 20th National Assembly, Thursday.

Rival parties also endorsed Rep. Shim Jae-cheol of the ruling Saenuri Party and Rep. Park Joo-sun of the minor opposition People’s Party as the vice speakers.

A total of 274 of 287 participating lawmakers voted for Chung during a plenary session. He will lead the legislature for two years of the four-year Assembly term.

This is the first time in 14 years that an opposition lawmaker was named Assembly speaker since Park Gwan-yong of the then opposition Grand National Party (the precursor to the Saenuri Party) in 2002.

The approval came a day after the rival parties reached an agreement on which of them would fill the speaker post and the heads of 18 Assembly committees.

The agreement was accelerated after the ruling Saenuri Party dropped its bid for the speaker post, breaking a week-long deadlock in parliamentary negotiations caused by the tug-of-war between the ruling and main opposition parties.

Following the deal, the MPK held an in-house election and named Chung as its single candidate for the post, Thursday. The parties approved the appointment during the plenary session later.

The lawmaker emerged as an influential bigwig in the party following the general election last month, where he beat ruling party candidate Oh Se-hoon, a former Seoul mayor who had been cited as a potential presidential candidate of the ruling party.

He gained overwhelming support from the MPK mainstream lawmakers who follow the legacy of the late President Roh Moo-hyun, according to party officials.

“The 20th National Assembly should be different from the previous ones and I’m determined to play my part,” Chung said after being elected. “I will bring back public trust to the National Assembly while working to promote the spirit of the Constitution and make the Assembly prepared for the future.”

Political watchers view the speaker’s role as critical in the new National Assembly where opposition party lawmakers outnumber their ruling party counterparts.

The speaker is expected to become an effective balancer as there are growing concerns that clashes in legislative procedures will be fiercer between the ruling party and a government that is entering into a lame duck phase, and the opposition which gained more power in the general election.

Born in Jinan, North Jeolla Province, Chung secured the seat for his hometown in the 15th to 18th terms of the National Assembly, and won the seat in Jongno for two consecutive terms in the 19th and 20th elections. The lawmaker chaired the opposition party three times, and has been viewed as a rational leader among fellow lawmakers.