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Ruling Party Uses Majority to Elect 11 National Assembly Committee Chairs After Opposition Walkout

The Democratic Party’s move puts control of key bill-review panels in the majority’s hands and raises the prospect of extended parliamentary deadlock.

Lawmakers of the main opposition People Power Party stage a rally at the National Assembly in Seoul in protest of the ruling party's push to unilaterally select parliamentary committee chiefs on June 29, 2026. (Yonhap)
Main opposition People Power Party (PPP) floor leader Rep. Jeong Jeom-sig and other PPP lawmakers hold signs criticizing the Democratic Party's push to unilaterally appoint standing committee chiefs at the National Assembly in Seoul on June 30, 2026. (Yonhap)
Assembly Speaker Cho Jeong-sik announces the election results of parliamentary standing committee chiefs in a plenary session at the National Assembly in Seoul on June 30, 2026. (Yonhap)
Han Byung-do, acting leader of the ruling Democratic Party, speaks during a meeting of the party's Supreme Council at the National Assembly in Seoul on June 29, 2026. (Yonhap)

Overview

  • The National Assembly voted to install 11 committee chiefs on Tuesday, June 30, after the Democratic Party used its 161-seat majority to push through nominations rather than reach a negotiated distribution.
  • The central dispute centers on the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, which vets other committees’ bills for legal consistency and has historically been used as a check on the majority.
  • The People Power Party boycotted the plenary vote, staged sit-ins and demonstrations, and filed a formal protest after Assembly Speaker Cho Jeong-sik appointed members to the 10 standing committees and a special budget committee.
  • Seven committee chairships remain unresolved and both sides say further talks will be contentious, a standoff that could delay oversight work, confirmations such as the prime minister nominee, and routine legislative business.
  • Committee chair assignments are negotiated every two years and control affects which bills reach the floor and how oversight is carried out, so this move both concentrates power in the majority and revives debate over parliamentary norms and checks and balances.