Petition for Lawmakers to Return Salary Surpasses 350,000... Major Parties Respond "Not Yet"

National Petition Board "Members of the National Assembly Should Return Half of Their Salaries Amid COVID-19 Crisis and Take It as an Opportunity to Reflect"
Justice Party Declares 30% Salary Return
Democratic Party Proposed Returning 50% of Remaining Term Salaries but Failed to Reach Party Consensus
United Party's Floor Leader Shim Jae-cheol Proposed "Contributing 1 Million Won Each" but No Progress in Discussions

Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, is attending the government-wide economic questioning session held at the National Assembly plenary hall on the 3rd, responding to questions from lawmakers. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] In the 20th National Assembly, attention is focused on whether the pay cuts for lawmakers will become a reality in relation to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) crisis.

As of 11 a.m. on the 23rd, a post titled "We propose that lawmakers return or reduce their monthly salary (pay) for the people in crisis due to COVID-19" on the Blue House National Petition Board has received the support of over 350,000 people. The petitioner explained the reason for the petition, saying, "(Lawmakers) received their full salary even though the National Assembly was closed for several months last year," and "This time should be an opportunity for lawmakers to repent for past mistakes by voluntarily returning or reducing their salary and to help the struggling nation even a little."

The Justice Party was the first to declare a full salary return by all its members. On the 22nd, Jung Hojin, spokesperson for the Justice Party's Election Countermeasures Committee, said in a statement, "All Justice Party lawmakers have decided to return 30% of their salary to share the damage caused by the spread of COVID-19," adding, "The Justice Party lawmakers' salary return period will continue until COVID-19 is over."

However, the Democratic Party, which announced its salary return plan first last week, has yet to finalize its party stance. On the 19th, Lee In-young, floor leader of the Democratic Party, said, "We will join the ranks sharing the difficulties," and "The Democratic Party will do its best to dedicate itself to overcoming the COVID-19 national crisis, including a campaign to donate 50% of lawmakers' salaries."

However, regarding Lee's proposal, it was reported that there was opposition among some lawmakers who lost in primaries or were excluded from nominations (cut-off), as the March salary had already been deposited on the 20th, and there was an opinion to donate half of the April and May salaries. In this regard, Yoon Ho-jung, secretary-general of the Democratic Party, said, "The floor leader team checked the opinions of lawmakers about the (50% salary donation campaign), and there were more positive responses," adding, "I think it will be decided soon through a party meeting."

The United Future Party is leaning toward voluntary participation by lawmakers. Shim Jae-chul, floor leader of the United Future Party, said at a press conference the day before, "We gathered opinions on whether to collect 1 million won per person," adding, "(I) donated three months' worth of salary. I will consider whether other lawmakers will raise additional funds." The Minsheng Party also plans to announce soon whether its members will return their salaries.

The discussion on lawmakers' salary cuts is not the first time. During the 'Fast Track incident' that led to the National Assembly's paralysis last year, criticism arose that "lawmakers who do not work should have their salaries cut," and some discussions took place but were ultimately abandoned.

In this regard, a National Assembly official said, "Bills related to salary cuts have been proposed at every National Assembly session but have been discarded without concrete discussion, and there is no procedure for salary return under current law," adding, "Currently, the only way is for lawmakers to voluntarily donate the amount corresponding to their salary." He also added, "Although some collective collections have been carried out, the amount and participation of lawmakers are low."

Meanwhile, according to the National Assembly Secretariat, the total annual salary of lawmakers this year was set at 151.88 million won, 1.2 million won higher than the previous year. According to the Democratic Party's '50% plan,' the three-month salary per lawmaker, excluding allowances and vehicle operation costs, is about 37.97 million won, and the salary to be donated would be about 18.99 million won.

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