The Last Plenary Session in Their 20s... Handling of the Past Affairs Act and COVID-19 Related Laws

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] On the 20th, the ruling and opposition parties will hold the last plenary session of the 20th National Assembly to process the remaining bills. The plenary session held in the afternoon will include the Basic Act on Past Affairs for Truth and Reconciliation (Past Affairs Act), bills related to the response to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), and follow-up bills to prevent the Nth Room incident.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The bills related to COVID-19 response to be processed at the plenary session include the amendment to the School Health Act to manage students entering or transiting from countries with infectious disease outbreaks to prevent the spread of infectious diseases within schools, and the amendment to the Immigration Control Act requiring short-term foreign residents to provide personal information to lodging operators during infectious disease crisis alert stages.

The Past Affairs Act, on which the ruling and opposition parties reached a 'last-minute agreement,' is also expected to be passed. If the bill passes, the Past Affairs Committee will be reactivated to investigate human rights violations involving state power, such as the Brothers Home and Seongam Academy incidents. Initially, the passage of the Past Affairs Act in the 20th National Assembly was uncertain, but a last-minute agreement was reached after Kim Moo-sung, a member of the Future United Party, mediated regarding the protest by victims of the Brothers Home.

Bills to prevent the recurrence of the Nth Room incident are also about to be passed. The amendments to the Framework Act on Broadcasting and Communications Development, the Information and Communications Network Act, and the Telecommunications Business Act include provisions requiring not only webhard operators but also internet service providers like Naver to block and delete illegal recordings.

The Employment Promotion Act, which provides employment support services and job-seeking allowances to vulnerable groups, and the amendment to the Employment Insurance Act expanding coverage to artists, will also be on the agenda at the plenary session. The full revision of the Electronic Signature Act, which aims to abolish the public certification system, is also expected to be processed.

Meanwhile, the National Assembly held a legislative training session for 151 first-term lawmakers elected to the 21st National Assembly at the Constitution Memorial Hall on the morning of the same day. Speaker Moon Hee-sang gave a special lecture to the first-term lawmakers during the training session.

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