Ruling and Opposition Parties Say They Will Hold a Plenary Session... But the Judiciary Committee, Where Key Livelihood Bills Are Pending, Has "No Plans"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] Although the ruling and opposition parties agreed to process 184 livelihood bills at the plenary session on the 9th, there are concerns that truly important livelihood bills such as the 'Data 3 Laws' will not even reach the plenary session threshold. Most of these bills are currently pending in the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee and relevant standing committees, and the ruling and opposition parties have only scheduled the plenary session without these committees taking any action.

According to the National Assembly on the 7th, the Data 3 Laws (Personal Information Protection Act, Credit Information Act, and Information and Communications Network Act amendments), the Pension 3 Laws (Basic Pension Act, Disabled Pension Act, National Pension Act), and the Haein Act (Children’s Safety Basic Act proposal) are all pending in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. The amendment to the Labor Standards Act to expand the unit period for flexible working hours has not even been brought up for discussion in the Environment and Labor Committee meetings since last November.

The Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the Environment and Labor Committee have not scheduled any meetings before the plenary session on the 9th. A Legislation and Judiciary Committee official said, "There is no schedule set for the committee until the 9th." An Environment and Labor Committee official also stated, "There has been no particular progress regarding the Labor Standards Act," adding, "No full committee meeting schedule has been discussed for this." A National Assembly official conveyed the atmosphere, saying, "Most lawmakers are focusing on constituency activities in preparation for the general election about 100 days away," and "Activities in the relevant standing committees have naturally come to a halt."

If these bills fail to pass the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the standing committees, their processing will be delayed until the next plenary session. Although the ruling and opposition parties have agreed to smoothly handle the adjustment of investigative authority between the prosecution and police first, there is still significant disagreement over the Kindergarten 3 Laws, making the possibility of filibusters and confrontation between the parties remain.

There are also concerns inside and outside the National Assembly about whether the plenary session agreed upon for the 9th will actually take place. A National Assembly official said, "Since the 20th National Assembly, agreements between floor leaders have been broken several times," adding, "Whether the plenary session on the 9th will be held is actually uncertain." An Environment and Labor Committee official also said, "The schedule for the plenary session on the 9th is likely to be unclear."

The Liberty Korea Party is demanding apologies from National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang and Floor Leader Lee In-young. After a party meeting held at the National Assembly the previous day, Liberty Korea Party Floor Leader Shim Jae-chul said, "Let's hold the plenary session on the 9th and process about 170 livelihood bills first. We will proactively lift the filibuster that has been blocking livelihood bills," but added, "If the Democratic Party and Speaker Moon want to operate the National Assembly smoothly, they must sincerely apologize for the 'smash-and-grab incident' at the end of last year."

Floor Leader Lee said at the morning floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly on the same day, "All the livelihood bills currently pending in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee are very urgent," emphasizing, "Especially the Data 3 Laws are desperately needed by the industrial field, and the Pension 3 Laws are also urgent tasks." He continued, "If the laws are passed immediately, increased pensions can be paid to the elderly and ordinary citizens within January. We request the Legislation and Judiciary Committee to open the way so that these can be processed at the plenary session on the 9th."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.