Kim Young-chun: "Lawmakers Can Become Ultra Super Spreaders... Must Prepare for Recurrence"

Second Day of National Assembly 'Shutdown'
"Beyond Quarantine, Must Prepare for Recurrence... Ruling and Opposition Leaders Must Agree on Enabling Legislation"

Kim Young-chun, Member of the Democratic Party of Korea./Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] As the National Assembly remains closed for the second day for disinfection work, Kim Young-chun, Secretary General of the National Assembly who is directly in charge of the task force, said on the 28th, "We need to go beyond disinfection and thoroughly prepare for the possibility of (closure) recurrence."

Secretary General Kim stated on CBS Radio that morning, "If a confirmed case occurs in the National Assembly, the ripple effect is on a completely different level compared to other places. Since members of the National Assembly represent constituencies across all provinces, they can truly become ultra super-spreaders."

He expressed concern that if confirmed cases occur among the members, it could lead to a situation where holding meetings becomes completely impossible. Secretary General Kim said, "Members are not individuals acting alone; they have many close contacts with fellow members, so if multiple confirmed cases occur among them, almost all meetings could be shut down."

He added, "The problem is that in such situations, there may be urgent matters like budget reviews or bill examinations that are time-sensitive, but if the National Assembly cannot be convened at all and national affairs cannot be handled when necessary, that is the biggest concern. If budget approval is delayed in late November at the end of the regular session, and urgent livelihood bills are not passed, it would be a major national issue."

Secretary General Kim emphasized the need to prepare in advance to enable remote video meetings and even remote voting. He said, "Some advanced countries prepared for this during the large-scale outbreak in spring, but since the situation calmed down a bit in spring here, the vigilance disappeared and we failed to prepare. Ultimately, the National Assembly Act must be amended." Currently, the National Assembly Act stipulates that meetings can only be held in the main building's conference rooms, making remote meetings and remote voting fundamentally impossible.

Secretary General Kim urged, "This is in preparation for possible future incidents. Ultimately, it is crucial for the leadership of both ruling and opposition parties to immediately consult and reach an agreement."

Regarding concerns about security issues, he said, "Whether it is for National Assembly elections or presidential elections, it is true that remote voting has not been implemented due to security and trust issues," adding, "We need to maximize security and create a system that allows for anonymous voting."

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