"If the National Assembly does not do its work, the damage will only go to the people" (meeting with senior secretaries and aides on May 13). "Along with the efforts of the government, we desperately need cooperation from the National Assembly" (cabinet meeting on May 14). "This year, the third year in office, we will definitely achieve outcomes that can be felt on site" (2019 Convention of Representatives of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises of the Republic of Korea on May 14).

There is a hint of desperation in President Moon Jae-in's recent remarks. The key is creating outcomes. If he spent the first half of his term in office building the foundation for reforms, the success of his state administration in the mid of his term will be determined by the fruits of his reforms. President Moon's appeal is mainly aimed at the National Assembly. In the past week, he pleaded with and pressured the National Assembly to resume normal functions, probably because parliamentary cooperation is essential for him to achieve reform outcomes. Take a look at the supplementary budget. If the opposition party blocks it, an early execution is out of the question, not to mention other economic and reform legislation. One ruling party and four opposition parties hold the sword that will determine the success in state administration.

The center of politics is shifting from Cheong Wa Dae to Yeouido. Despite the controversy, the recent action by the ruling party and three opposition parties in putting the amendment of the electoral system and other legislation on the Fast Track is regarded as one that symbolically showed such change. The incident recalled the sole authority of the legislative branch, and showed that any institutional reform is possible through the National Assembly, while it is impossible without going through the National Assembly.

It is natural for the center of politics to move to the National Assembly in the middle of a government’s term in office. In the early days in office, the president and Cheong Wa Dae can drive state administration with the support of high approval ratings. Then in the middle of their term, the power goes to the National Assembly. Such a pattern has repeated each time in the previous governments ever since democracy was reestablished.

As the National Assembly takes center stage of politics, the relationship between the ruling party and Cheong Wa Dae also shifts. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea is bound to have more power as it deals with the opposition parties. In 2015, Yoo Seong-min, the floor leader of the ruling Saenuri Party (current Liberty Korea Party) at the time addressed the National Assembly and said, "Welfare without more taxes is fiction" and stood up to President Park Geun-hye in her third year in office. What's more, the Democratic Party's power is likely to grow stronger as we approach the parliamentary elections next year. Some experts believe that the election of floor leader Lee In-young, who is not a member of the ruling party's mainstream, hints at the change between the relationship of the ruling party and Cheong Wa Dae.

At the center of parliamentary politics is the relationship with the major opposition, the Liberty Korea Party. Some suggest that the ruling party should continue to push ahead taking advantage of its power in numbers behind the "Fast Track solidarity" with the three opposition parties, but when considering the situation in the Bareun Mirae Party, it is hard to guarantee how long the solidarity will last. Most of all, lawmaker Oh Shin-hwan was elected as the Bareun Mirae Party's floor leader on May 15, and this will indeed be a variable. Oh is a former member of the Bareun Party and had fiercely opposed the Fast Track.

The problem is that it is not easy to establish a relationship with the Liberty Korea Party. At present, the Liberty Korea Party is the root of all evil as well as a partner in state administration to the ruling party. Between these two inseparable features, what the ruling party decides to focus on will determine its relationship with the Liberty Korea Party. In the case of President Moon, his recent comments suggest that he has no intention to compromise with the regressive behavior of the Liberty Korea Party, which continues to raise questions of ideology.

Some believe that the issue of a permanent consultative body consisting of the ruling and opposition parties and the government will be the test that will determine future relations between the ruling and opposition parties and between the ruling party and Cheong Wa Dae. Currently, Cheong Wa Dae wants all five ruling and opposition parties to take part according to the initial agreement, whereas the Liberty Korea Party is insisting on the participation of just the three bargaining groups in the National Assembly. The Democratic Party floor leadership has announced that it could encourage Cheong Wa Dae to accept the Liberty Korea Party's demand, if the party gives a sure answer on some issues including the supplementary budget. This day, Cheong Wa Dae said, "If the ruling party makes the recommendation, we will review their opinion and decide on the issue."