The National Assembly Stopped Three Times in Two Weeks... Will 'Remote Meetings' Gain Momentum?

Concerns Over 4th Supplementary Budget and National Audit Disruptions Raise Calls for 'Remote Activation'
System Setup Near Completion... People Power Party Lukewarm on Legal Amendments
People Power Party Keeps Door Open for Video Conference Possibility

On the morning of the 7th, a reporter from a news agency entering the National Assembly was confirmed positive for COVID-19, putting the National Assembly on high alert once again. This is the third confirmed case since the first resident staff member tested positive at the end of last month. The National Assembly plans to partially close the main building and the Communication Office in the afternoon and conduct disinfection. The photo shows the National Assembly on that day. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] The National Assembly is deliberating on operational measures to prepare for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). The anxiety has grown as the National Assembly has halted three times within half a month due to consecutive confirmed cases. While there is growing support for activating remote meetings to ensure no disruptions in the upcoming supplementary budget review or the national audit, the agreement between the ruling and opposition parties remains a variable.

Since the first confirmed case in the National Assembly on the 27th of last month until the 8th, the total days the Assembly was halted amount to 7 out of 13 days. Scheduled standing committee meetings were canceled, and ultimately the settlement review was postponed, causing disruptions in work. Sudden requests to vacate and even working from home have also caused confusion among aides. Each time a confirmed case emerges, the overall work of the National Assembly is effectively paralyzed repeatedly.

The Secretariat of the National Assembly is adjusting by specifying closure locations centered on the confirmed case's movement paths rather than a full shutdown, but concerns remain that closures could recur at any time. This is why there are calls to prepare so that major schedules such as the 4th supplementary budget review and the October national audit proceed without disruption. Especially for the national audit, which is conducted intensively over a month with many people coming and going, the process must be handled with extra caution.

The establishment of a video conferencing system is expected to be completed as early as this month, or at the latest by October. However, legal amendments are required for video conferencing to be possible. Since the ruling and opposition parties have agreed to decide on the National Assembly's operational methods in preparation for COVID-19, the change in the relatively lukewarm stance of the People Power Party will determine whether remote audits are possible.

The People Power Party agrees that the national audit must proceed without disruption but considers remote audits a last resort. There is a perception that it is difficult to perform in-depth criticism and act as an effective opposition through video conferencing. A People Power Party official said, "If it becomes difficult to conduct the audit due to the National Assembly closure, we can find methods such as visiting the audited institutions," adding, "In a situation where the institutions are not responding sincerely to the National Assembly's data requests, conducting the audit via video conferencing would make proper auditing even more difficult."

Remote plenary voting during National Assembly closures seems even more unlikely. While the People Power Party leaves room for remote meetings, it clearly opposes remote voting. On the same day, Choi Hyung-doo, the party's floor spokesperson, told CBS Radio, "There are concerns that (making voting too easy) would favor the ruling party in passing bills, as well as issues related to security, stability, and packing," and pointed out, "Even the Australian Parliament, which has long established a video conferencing system, does not handle voting remotely." He drew a line on introducing remote voting, saying, "We could discuss a method where a fellow lawmaker acts as a proxy in very exceptional situations."

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