Main opposition party to decide whether to return to Assembly

The ball is now in the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) to normalize the deadlocked parliament.

The NPAD was able to prevent the ruling Saenuri Party from unilaterally convening a main National Assembly session by appealing to National Assembly Speaker Chung Ui-hwa. If the NPAD fails to make any progress in the negotiations with the Saenuri Party over a special bill on the Sewol ferry disaster, the opposition would have to return to the parliament empty-handed. In that case, it would have little cause with which to persuade its lawmakers to retreat.

The NPAD`s floor leader, Park Young-sun, plans to make some progress in the issue of a special law on the Sewol disaster by negotiating with her Saenuri counterpart, Lee Wan-koo, this weekend. Kim Young-rok, a deputy floor leader of the NPAD, said Friday that some progress was made at a meeting with the victims` families. "Now what matters is whether the Saenuri Party will come to the negotiating table with sincerity," he said. He viewed that consent from the victims` families created a room for compromises in the negotiation with the ruling party.

However, the Saenuri floor leader said he would resign from his post after a Friday parliamentary session could not be convened. Although the ruling party did not accept his resignation, it is unlikely for Lee to come to the negotiating table with the opposition party. One NPAD official expressed his frustration, saying the negotiation would go nowhere if the counterpart quits.

The Saenuri Party also adamantly refuses to take a step back from the latest agreement reached on August 19. Another NPAD official expressed concern, saying that the Saenuri Party showed signs of returning to the negotiations but seemed to have changed its position right after President Park Geun-hye returned from her visit to New York where she attended the UN Security Council meeting.

The NPAD plans to hold a meeting of its lawmakers on Monday morning to decide whether to return to the National Assembly. With little progress in the Sewol negotiations, however, quite a few lawmakers are expected to refuse to go back with empty hands. One party official noted that most NPAD lawmakers wanted to return to the parliament, adding the party would have no choice but to put the issue to a vote.