The 21st National Assembly officially kicked off at 10 a.m. Friday amid a boycott from the main opposition United Future Party.
Parliament opened its first plenary session with lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties present.
However, UFP lawmakers walked out of the chamber soon after floor leader Joo Ho-young's opening speech.
He claimed the meeting was not legitimate due to the rival parties' failure to negotiate over how to form standing committees.
Joo made clear that he was present at the meeting to protest, not to attend the session.
Meanwhile, during the session, lawmakers selected six-term lawmaker Park Byeong-seug from the ruling Democratic Party as the new speaker to serve for the first half of the 21st National Assembly.
<Photo: Yonhap News>
