Chung Jeom-sik: "I Will Convene a Meeting of Senior Lawmakers to Discuss Future Strategy"

People Power Party (PPP) Floor Leader Chung Jeom-sik stated that he is considering convening a meeting of senior party members to gather their opinions on the party's future course of action, following the Democratic Party of Korea's unilateral election of 11 standing and special committee chairs and its partial progress in forming the National Assembly.

During an appearance on a Maeil Shinmun YouTube program today (July 8), Floor Leader Chung stated, "Since yesterday, the chief deputy floor leaders of the ruling and opposition parties have been meeting and engaging in preliminary discussions."

He continued, "We are protesting strongly because we can only interpret the Democratic Party's move to take the Legislation and Judiciary Committee chair as a step toward legislative unilateralism," while adding, "I deeply feel the difficulties of being a minority ruling party. However, we cannot simply give up on our struggle as it is."

Regarding the mass resignation of lawmakers, which has been mentioned in some quarters as a potential form of protest, he drew a line, stating, "There is a very high possibility that it would be trivialized." He added, "If we were to do it, it would have to be done with the genuine resolve that we are truly resigning, which is why we have not reached a point of discussing it."

In response to the reactivation of the party's Ethics Committee following Supreme Council Member Jang Dong-hyeok's announcement of a plan to discipline those engaging in acts detrimental to the party, Floor Leader Chung said, "I believe that disciplinary action can exist in any organizational structure." He added, "However, I believe that the targets and the level of disciplinary action must be at a level that the public, party members, and the majority of lawmakers can agree with."

He further stated, "I expect the process to proceed in that manner and for such results to follow."

When asked if there is a disagreement between him and Supreme Council Member Jang regarding major issues, including the disciplinary matter, he explained, "There is no rule that the party leader and the floor leader must always have the same opinion, but we are always in discussion whenever it is necessary."

Regarding internal party conflicts, he emphasized, "We must quickly overcome the reality within our party where members do not even shake hands or talk to each other simply because they belong to different factions, so that we can mount a strong struggle against the opposition and take care of the people's livelihoods."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.