The first half of the National Assembly's new term chose its speaker in a vote held in the absence of the ruling People Power Party. Despite this, the Democratic Party of Korea, with a majority in the Assembly, succeeded in electing Rep. Woo Won-shik as the new speaker. The ruling party objected to the Democratic Party's push to chair all 17 committees, raising concerns about a single party dominating committee leadership. The absence of the ruling party members during the vote marked an unprecedented unilateral action by the Democratic Party. The People Power Party criticized the speaker election as an abuse of the Democratic Party's majority in the Assembly, emphasizing the need to avoid one-party dominance. Rep. Woo Won-shik, known for his anti-Japan stance, urged President Yoon Suk Yeol and his administration to respect the Assembly and its authority in his first remarks as speaker. The two major parties clashed over President Yoon's decision to suspend the 2018 inter-Korean pact, with Democratic Party lawmakers criticizing the move as risking peace on the Korean Peninsula and conservative members monitoring North Korea's response to the temporary pact suspension.