Seoul: National Assembly Speaker Cho Jeong-sik told the rival parties Monday to reach an agreement and submit their agreed list of nominees for the chairs of 18 standing parliamentary committees amid a prolonged deadlock over the formation of the second half of the Assembly. Speaker Cho made the call during a meeting with the floor leaders of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), asking them to submit their list by noon Wednesday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Speaker Cho emphasized the urgency of the situation, stating, "I am making this request out of a sense of urgency as we cannot indefinitely delay the normalization of the National Assembly and must comply with the National Assembly Act." He strongly urged both parties to resolve the issue from a broader perspective. The DP and the PPP have been in contention over which party should lead which parliamentary committees for the second half of the 22nd National Assembly.

The two parties have been particularly at odds over the leadership of the parliamentary legislation and judiciary committee, a crucial Assembly panel with the authority to approve bills before they are put to a plenary vote. Both parties have claimed the right to head this key committee, with the PPP arguing that it is customary for a lawmaker from the second-largest party to hold the chair of the committee.

Following the meeting, DP floor leader Han Byung-do informed reporters that his party would submit the list by the date requested by the Assembly speaker. In contrast, PPP floor leader Jeong Jeom-sig expressed "strong regret" over the speaker's request. Rep. Jeong contended that the negotiations have not been excessively delayed and criticized what he described as an attempt by the DP to unilaterally form the Assembly, violating the fundamental principle of bipartisan compromise.

Earlier in the day, Han, the DP floor leader, suggested two options if the deadlock persists: dividing the committee chairmanships based on the number of seats each party holds in parliament or having the DP unilaterally allocate the chairmanships. With 161 out of 300 seats in the Assembly, the DP holds the majority needed to unilaterally elect standing committee chiefs.