The main opposition Democratic Party(DP) deferred a plan to unilaterally elect the new parliamentary speaker during a plenary session on Friday, amid a prolonged vacuum at the National Assembly.

DP lawmakers decided the previous day to extend talks with the ruling People Power Party(PPP). With a majority in parliament, the DP will convene the session on Monday should negotiations fall through.

DP floor leader Park Hong-keun said his party will patiently wait for the PPP to make concessions. PPP chief deputy floor leader Song Eon-seog, on the other hand, said electing the speaker without bipartisan agreement would be in violation of Assembly regulations.

Expressing an intent to stage a rally to denounce such a move, the PPP urged the DP to withdraw preconditions to an earlier concession of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee chairmanship and cooperate in forming the standing committees.

As PPP floor leader Kweon Seong-dong is expected to return from a trip to the Philippines on Saturday, all eyes are on whether the two sides will be able to strike a deal over the weekend.