In a recent radio interview, National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo criticized his former Democratic Party of Korea colleagues for suggesting that the parliamentary leader does not need to maintain political neutrality. He emphasized the importance of the speaker remaining unaffiliated with any party in order to exercise neutrality and keep the executive branch in check. Kim expressed disappointment in the ruling and opposition parties for their confrontational and intransigent behavior, highlighting the need for dialogue and compromise. The criticism against Kim came from prominent figures within the Democratic Party who are also vying for the position of the next speaker. Park Jie-won and Choo Mi-ae, both potential candidates for the speakership, have publicly expressed their views that the speaker of the Assembly does not need to remain neutral. Additionally, the Democratic Party had previously slammed Kim for traveling abroad for an interparliamentary meeting while they were pushing for a special counsel investigation into the death of a Marine. Despite the party's objections, Kim complied with their request to convene an Assembly session to put the special counsel bill to a vote before leaving for his scheduled trip to the US and other countries.