Assembly holds opening ceremony 96 days late

The National Assembly on Monday held its opening ceremony nearly 100 days after the members of the new parliament began working and with the incumbent president skipping the event for the first time since South Korea ended decades of military dictatorship in 1987.

President Yoon Suk Yeol’s decision to skip the Assembly’s ceremony, where it had been customary for the president to give a congratulatory speech since 1987, followed hearings held by the parliamentary judiciary committee in July for review of an online petition that called for an impeachment motion against Yoon. The petition was based on a total of five accusations, including the Yoon administration's alleged meddling in the investigation of a Marine’s death, and first lady Kim Keon Hee's alleged involvement in a stock manipulation case.

In Yoon’s place, Assembly Speaker and main opposition Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Woo Won-shik made the opening speech, in which he apologized to the public for the belated ceremony and expressed regret over Yoon's absence.

“I apologize to our citizens for the belated opening ceremony of the 22nd National Assembly,” Woo said at the ceremony, attended by members of both the ruling and the opposition parties.

“It is regretful (that President Yoon) couldn't attend (the ceremony) since the meeting between the leaders of the two largest parties was held (the previous day) and it would've been nice for the public to see (him at the event). The (only) road towards success for the Cabinet is to lend its ears to the voices within the Assembly, which most closely reflects the hearts of the people,” he added.

The ceremony was initially set to take place around the Assembly's inauguration on May 30 but was delayed for 95 days, marking the longest delay since the 1987 Constitutional reform. The delay came in line with the ruling People Power Party’s warnings to boycott the event due to the opposition-led Assembly’s moves to pass multiple contentious bills.

Regarding Yoon’s absence, an official at the presidential office, who declined to be named, said Monday afternoon it would be difficult for the incumbent president to attend the ceremony, citing the opposition-led Assembly's latest moves tied to an impeachment motion against Yoon and pass bills mandating special counsel investigations against officials within the administration.

It is in line with the official's remarks saying that it would be “right for (the president to be) invited after normalizing the Assembly which has been filled with (proposals) of special counsel investigations and impeachments (against President Yoon),” in a briefing held the previous day.

The official pointed out that the presidential office believes the opposition would “shame” Yoon at the ceremony, under a likely scenario, which makes it difficult for the president to attend the event.

The ceremony comes a day after People Power Party Chair Han Dong-hoon and Democratic Party Chair Lee Jae-myung held their first official talks on Sunday, in which they agreed to establish a consultative body for common livelihood-related policies. They, however, failed to reach a consensus on the bills drafted and railroaded by the main opposition, including the special counsel probe bill into a young Marine's death and another that aims to provide handouts of between 250,000 won ($182) and 350,000 won to the entire population.