Temporary February National Assembly Session Opens on 17th... Goal to Pass Electoral District Delimitation Bill by March 5 (Comprehensive)

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] The ruling and opposition parties have agreed to hold the February extraordinary session of the National Assembly from the 17th of this month to the 17th of next month, during which they will conduct negotiation group representative speeches, government questioning, and plenary sessions for bill passage. Additionally, they plan to continue negotiations between the administrative and security committee secretaries to finalize the electoral district delineation for the April 15 general election, aiming for plenary session approval on the 5th of next month.

On the 11th, Democratic Party floor leader Lee In-young and Liberty Korea Party floor leader Shim Jae-chul met at the National Assembly and agreed on this legislative schedule, as briefed by Democratic Party Deputy Floor Leader Yoon Hoo-duk and Liberty Korea Party Deputy Floor Leader Kim Han-pyo.

According to the bipartisan agreement, the negotiation group representative speeches will be held on the 18th and 19th, government questioning from the 24th to the 26th, and plenary sessions for bill passage on the 27th and March 5th. The government questioning will proceed in the order of politics and diplomacy (24th), economy (25th), and education, society, and culture (26th).

Furthermore, both parties intend to continue electoral district delineation negotiations in line with the timetable to complete the process by the 5th of next month. They will begin discussions on the 12th through a meeting of the administrative and security committee secretaries.

Regarding this, Deputy Floor Leader Kim stated, "We decided to first discuss the matter at the standing committee level and, if necessary, form a separate meeting (special committee). We agreed that it is more efficient to discuss this as soon as possible rather than postponing the talks, so the administrative and security committee will take the lead."

However, the ruling and opposition parties have not reached a final agreement on the formation of a special committee in the National Assembly to respond to the novel coronavirus infection situation.

In their joint statement, the Democratic Party and Liberty Korea Party said, "The formation of the National Assembly (Wuhan) Novel Coronavirus Countermeasures Special Committee will be further discussed considering the need for rapid response at quarantine sites and future circumstances such as the establishment of new negotiation groups."

Previously, the ruling and opposition parties had agreed to establish a National Assembly special committee consisting of 18 members: 9 from the Democratic Party, 8 from the Liberty Korea Party, and 1 from a non-negotiation group. However, disagreements arose over the committee's name and which party would chair it.

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