National Assembly to Hold 'Wuhan Pneumonia' Urgent Inquiry on 30th... Kim Se-yeon: "Quarantine Act to Pass in February"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Won Dara] The National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee held a plenary session on the 30th to conduct urgent inquiries regarding the "Novel Coronavirus Infection (Wuhan Pneumonia)." Kim Se-yeon, a member of the Liberty Korea Party, who chairs the committee, predicted that the amendment to the Quarantine Act, currently pending in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, could be passed within February.

At a meeting held at the National Assembly on the afternoon of the 29th, Chairman Kim stated, "Since issues related to the novel coronavirus are urgent matters for the Health and Welfare Committee, we will hold a full committee meeting tomorrow to ensure that, through the government's proactive response, not a single citizen suffers a tragic loss."

He added, "There are many questions the public may have at this time," and said, "Although the Ministry of Health and Welfare is briefing and the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is releasing information, we aim to address concerns and anxieties in more detailed aspects."

Chairman Kim also said, "Even during the Lunar New Year holidays, we could have convened an emergency meeting, but we thought it best to allow the government’s administrative resources to be fully deployed for initial response by giving the central government time to act as a control tower during the early response phase," adding, "We decided to conduct the urgent inquiry after some level of response had been established."

Regarding the amendment to the Quarantine Act pending in the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, he said, "It has been customary for the February session of the National Assembly to be held and necessary bills to be passed, based on past precedents." Park Jong-hee, senior expert of the Health and Welfare Committee, said, "I believe the likelihood of passage is very high." The amendment to the Quarantine Act aims to comprehensively prevent the spread of infectious diseases by subdividing the quarantine system, which was previously focused on ports, into aircraft, ships, and land routes.

Meanwhile, on the same day, the Health and Welfare Committee introduced bills proposed and passed during the 20th National Assembly, including the "Jaeyoon Act (Patient Safety Act amendment)" and partial amendments to the Emergency Medical Services Act to strengthen penalties for assault incidents in emergency rooms. Chairman Kim said, "This is the first time in the history of the National Assembly that a performance briefing and press conference are held at the committee level," and added, "I hope this will be an occasion for the National Assembly, which has been engaged in political strife, to move toward coexistence."

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