오늘 21대 국회 개원, 전반기 국회의장에 민주 박병석 선출
We start with the big domestic news of the day.
South Korea's 21st National Assembly has officially kicked off.
Lawmakers have elected five-term lawmaker Park Byeong-seug of the ruling Democratic Party as the National Assembly Speaker.
Park will serve a two-year term.
During his acceptance speech, he vowed to make the 21st National Assembly one that prioritizes people's livelihoods and is forward-looking.
The ruling party's Kim Sang-hee took one of the two deputy speaker posts becoming the first female lawmaker to do so.
The other deputy post remains vacant, as the main opposition United Future Party, walked out of the chamber without voting, saying bipartisan negotiations to convene the session hadn't been settled.
The ruling party, together with lawmakers from other parties, pushed ahead, claiming that numerous pending bills, including the government's third supplementary budget proposal await parliamentary screening.
