Will the New Parliamentary Leadership Resolve the Stalemate in the National Assembly Over the 'One-Point Constitutional Amendment' Clash?

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] The Democratic Party of Korea is urging the convening of a plenary session on the 8th, but the United Future Party is maintaining a negative stance on the handling of the 'People's Initiative Constitutional Amendment,' causing difficulties. While concerns are rising that the passage of livelihood bills has become uncertain, there is also hope that the atmosphere could change depending on negotiations between the new floor leaders of both parties.

According to the National Assembly on the 4th, about 15,000 bills are pending in the 20th National Assembly. The Democratic Party's position is to handle only 'essential bills,' such as those related to the comprehensive real estate tax law and income tax law amendments concerning the December 16 real estate measures, follow-up bills for the establishment of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office, and constitutionally incompatible bills like the Tax Accountant Act and the Teachers' Union Act.

Lee In-young, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, said at the Supreme Council meeting that day, "There are too many livelihood bills that the 20th National Assembly has not been able to complete. In particular, essential bills such as the All-day Care System Support Act and the Public Medical Establishment System are piled up, and constitutionally incompatible bills like the Tax Accountant Act and the Jeju 4.3 Special Act are still pending." He added, "I earnestly request the United Future Party to make a bold decision and take a generous approach. I hope they will positively consider holding the last plenary session of the 20th National Assembly."

The main obstacle to convening the plenary session is the 'One-point Constitutional Amendment' that includes the People's Initiative Constitutional Amendment system. Earlier, the ruling and opposition parties submitted a constitutional amendment allowing the 'People's Initiative Constitutional Amendment,' led by Democratic Party lawmaker Kang Chang-il in March, with 148 lawmakers from both parties including the Democratic Party and the United Future Party participating. The proposal is to allow constitutional amendments to be initiated not only by a majority of the National Assembly members or the president but also by obtaining the consent of one million voters, i.e., the people.

According to regulations, the National Assembly must pass the constitutional amendment within 60 days from the date of its announcement. The deadline for the People's Initiative Constitutional Amendment is the 9th, but considering that it falls on a Saturday, the effective deadline is the 8th, one day earlier.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, the United Future Party opposes holding the plenary session on the 8th, viewing the Democratic Party's attempt to pass the People's Initiative Constitutional Amendment as an effort to lead constitutional amendments in the 21st National Assembly. Shim Jae-cheol, acting leader and floor leader of the United Future Party, claimed on the 2nd, "The People's Initiative Constitutional Amendment has an impure intention to overturn the constitution itself, aiming to create a 'Workers' Republic' by mobilizing the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions."

If the two parties fail to narrow their differences and the plenary session on the 8th does not take place, not only the 'essential bills' the Democratic Party seeks to pass but also the People's Initiative Constitutional Amendment will likely be automatically discarded. However, there remains a possibility of a dramatic agreement between the new floor leaders on the 8th, when their election is finalized. In fact, it is reported that Acting Leader Shim intends to leave the schedule agreement to the new floor leaders. Thus, the new floor leaders of both parties will face a test of their negotiation skills immediately upon their inauguration.

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