South Korea’s rival political parties have failed to produce a breakthrough in negotiations over the protracted launch of this month’s extra parliamentary session as they lock horns over several controversial issues.
Chief deputy floor leaders of the ruling Democratic Party(DP) and the main opposition United Future Party(UFP) met on Monday and discussed schedules regarding the long overdue official opening ceremony of the 21st National Assembly, speeches by negotiating group leaders and interpellation sessions.
DP Chief Deputy Floor Leader Kim Young-jin told reporters that the two parties agreed to resume negotiations, while his UFP counterpart Kim Sung-won said there was “some” progress that came short of making a deal.
The UFP returned to parliament early this month after ending a boycott over the DP’s dominance of key parliamentary committees, but continues to demand parliamentary inspections into the government’s North Korea policies and other issues. It is also calling for an independent probe into alleged media-prosecution collusion involving a close aide to Prosecutor-General Yoon Seok-youl.