The Spread of the New Coronavirus... Yet Another Halt in the National Assembly

Agreed to Launch Ruling and Opposition Special Committee but Failed to Agree on Temporary National Assembly Schedule
Democratic Party "Let's Meet on the 10th" VS Liberty Korea Party "Let's Meet at the End of This Month" Due to Conservative Unification and Electoral District Delimitation
During MERS Special Committee, National Assembly Opened About Two Weeks After First Confirmed Case and Passed Infectious Disease Law Amendment

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] The ruling and opposition parties, who have agreed to launch a 'Special Committee on Novel Coronavirus Infection (Wuhan Pneumonia) Countermeasures,' have yet to agree on the schedule for the extraordinary session of the National Assembly to handle the Quarantine Act. The Democratic Party of Korea proposed holding the extraordinary session on the 10th, but the Liberty Korea Party is suggesting the last week of February, citing reasons such as the conservative unification schedule.

Yoon Hoo-duk, the senior deputy floor leader of the Democratic Party in charge of negotiations on the COVID-19 special committee and the extraordinary session schedule, said in a phone interview with Asia Economy on the 6th, "The top priority in today's negotiations is to decide the name of the COVID-19 special committee and the chairpersons and members who will participate," adding, "The schedule for the extraordinary session is not a topic for discussion today." The problem is that even if the special committee begins its activities, if the schedule for the extraordinary session is not agreed upon, it will be impossible to pass the supporting legislation, which is a role of the National Assembly.

Senior Deputy Floor Leader Yoon said, "We proposed to the Liberty Korea Party to hold the extraordinary session on the 10th, but they are suggesting holding it in the last week of this month." Kim Han-pyo, the senior deputy floor leader in charge of the Liberty Korea Party's parliamentary schedule negotiations, initially said, "Let's pass the amendment to the Quarantine Act proposed by Representative Won Yoo-chul of the Liberty Korea Party, which includes preventive measures," but if the extraordinary session is not held, passing the bill will be impossible. During the 2015 Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak, the first confirmed case was reported on May 20, and the extraordinary session was held about two weeks later on June 8, with the amendment to the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act, which granted practical authority to public officials at quarantine sites, passed on June 18.

The Liberty Korea Party's lukewarm attitude toward agreeing on the extraordinary session schedule is due to internal party circumstances. The Innovation and Unity Promotion Committee (Hyuktongwi) plans to launch a new party around the 20th. If the extraordinary session is held in February, discussions on electoral district delimitation are expected to proceed, which is also a source of dissatisfaction. A Democratic Party official said, "The Liberty Korea Party is requesting to delay the extraordinary session schedule due to internal party circumstances." A Liberty Korea Party official said, "Discussions on electoral district delimitation have not been conducted," adding, "It is unfair for electoral district delimitation to be processed recklessly like the passage of the election law amendment."

Even if the special committee is convened, partisan disputes are expected. First, the Democratic Party refers to the infection as 'Novel Coronavirus.' However, the Liberty Korea Party criticizes this as pandering to China and insists it should be called 'Wuhan Pneumonia.' Senior Deputy Floor Leader Yoon said, "There is a disagreement over whether to include the name 'Wuhan' in the title, so negotiations are needed." Disagreements are also expected regarding the direction of the special committee's activities. The Democratic Party cites the World Health Organization (WHO) standards and holds the position that a total entry ban should be considered after monitoring the situation. On the other hand, Representative Shin Sang-jin and others from the Liberty Korea Party emphasize that if the special committee is established, the top priority for both parties should be restricting entry from all parts of China. Since the Bareunmirae Party, which had played a partial mediating role, lost its status as a negotiating group (with 20 or more members) due to Representative Lee Chan-yeol's departure, there are expectations that future negotiations will not be easy.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party plans to prioritize actions that can be taken before the extraordinary session, such as party-government-civil service consultations and blood donations. At the party-government-civil service meeting the day before, it was decided to use the entire 3.4 trillion won budget allocated for novel coronavirus countermeasures as a reserve fund instead of passing an additional supplementary budget through the National Assembly. On the same day, as blood donors sharply decreased due to the impact of the novel coronavirus, the Democratic Party leadership, recruited talents, and party members held a blood donation event.

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