Ruling party mulls one-day Assembly session over urgent issues

The ruling Saenuri Party is considering pushing to convene a one-day plenary meeting of the National Assembly to elect a new parliamentary speaker and two vice speakers, officials familiar with the issue said Monday.

The Saenuri Party also said it could hold the plenary parliamentary session by itself if the main opposition Democratic United Party and other opposition parties refuse to cooperate, they said.

The 300-member parliament began its four-year term earlier this month, though it has failed to convene its first plenary meeting, as the ruling party and the main opposition party have continued haggling over control of key parliamentary committees.

The ruling party's move is also designed to avoid a vacuum in the Supreme Court by selecting speakers and voting for the nomination of four candidates for the Supreme Court justices, the officials said.

The new Supreme Court justices are scheduled to begin their official duties on July 11 if they receive parliamentary endorsement.

More than 150 out of 300 lawmakers need to be present at the parliament to put the nomination to a vote. Of the minimum 151, a majority of approval votes, at least 76, is needed to endorse the nomination.

The Saenuri Party has 150 seats, followed by the DUP with 127, the Unified Progressive Party with 13, and another minor party and independent lawmakers with 10.

Kim Gi-hyeon, a deputy floor leader of the Saenuri Party, appealed to the DUP to immediately hold a one-day plenary meeting of the National Assembly by taking into account a confirmation hearing for the four nominees to the Supreme Court. (Yonhap News)