Nam Jong-seop of the Democratic Party of Korea has been elected speaker for the first half of the 12th Gyeonggi Provincial Council's term.
The Gyeonggi Provincial Council held the first plenary session of its 392nd extraordinary session Monday to conduct the speaker election. With all 167 sitting members present, Nam, who ran unopposed, was elected in a secret ballot, winning 165 votes in favor and two against.
In his acceptance remarks, the new speaker said, "I feel both honored and a heavy sense of responsibility to stand in this grave position of leading the nation's largest metropolitan council." He added, "I will make sure to push through the enactment of a local council law that will enhance the independence and accountability of local councils," and said, "I will place every system of the council's organization and operation on supporting members' legislative activities."
He also stressed, "The majority party must embrace others with greater responsibility, and we must create a culture in which the voices of the minority party are fully respected." He emphasized, "I will be a speaker for all members, not the speaker of any single party."
This council comprises 144 Democratic Party seats, 22 People Power Party seats, and one Rebuilding Korea Party seat out of a total of 167. Amid a record ruling-party majority, conflict between the parties surfaced from the very process of forming the council's leadership.
In the deputy speaker elections held after the speaker election, the Democratic Party took both seats. Ko Eun-jung was elected first deputy speaker with 165 votes in favor and two against. In the second deputy speaker election, Kim Mi-sook won 142 votes, defeating the People Power Party's Keum Jong-rye, who garnered just 24 votes. There was one abstention.
Earlier, the Democratic Party and the People Power Party had clashed over the allocation of deputy speaker seats. The Democratic Party maintained that, having secured about 90% of the total seats, it should hold both the speaker post and both deputy speaker seats. The People Power Party, by contrast, argued that by convention one deputy speaker seat should go to the opposition.
After the leadership election, People Power Party members issued a statement denouncing the Democratic Party, saying, "Dialogue and compromise, the basics of council operation, have disappeared, leaving only the self-righteousness and unilateralism of a majority party that has monopolized even the second deputy speaker post simply because it is the majority."
The council will conduct the appointment of standing committee members and the election of committee chairs on the 14th. At the third plenary session on the 22nd, procedures for appointing special committee members and electing their chairs are set to follow.
Meanwhile, an inauguration ceremony for the 12th provincial council was also held after the extraordinary session. The event was attended by Gyeonggi Governor Choo Mi-ae and Superintendent Ahn, among others. Governor Choo said, "The provincial council and the provincial government must gather their wisdom, looking toward the same goal of the lives of provincial residents." Superintendent Ahn said, "Education is a powerful force that changes the world, and I ask for your valuable insights and affectionate suggestions for the great transformation of Gyeonggi education."
