The 21st National Assembly Changed by COVID-19... Electronic Proposals Already '3 Times' More Than the 20th

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] Attention is focused on whether the 21st National Assembly will become an electronic assembly due to the impact of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). Although only four months have passed since the start of the 21st National Assembly, it has been revealed that about three times more electronic proposals have been made compared to the entire term of the 20th National Assembly.

According to the National Assembly Legislative Affairs Office on the 6th, as of September 16, 63 bills were proposed in electronic form in the 21st National Assembly. This is a sharp increase compared to 23 bills during the entire term of the 20th National Assembly and zero as of September 2016. There were no electronic proposals in the 18th and 19th National Assemblies. The National Assembly electronic proposal system, introduced in 2005, is finally fulfilling its role after 15 years. Video seminars, which were nonexistent until the 20th Assembly, are now held on average 1 to 2 times daily. Previously, most seminars were held in seminar rooms at the National Assembly Members' Office Building, but many seminars are now conducted using video conferencing apps like Zoom and YouTube.

A National Assembly official said, "In the past, many aides did not even know about the electronic proposal and video conferencing systems, but since the National Assembly was closed due to COVID-19, these systems have been actively utilized." An aide from the ruling party said, "Although the system existed before, we used to go around each member's office to get joint proposal stamps. This time, I used the electronic proposal system for the first time."

Unusual scenes such as party leadership meetings, members' general meetings, and workshops being held online have also occurred. The Democratic Party leadership connected local government heads via video during the Supreme Council meeting to check the typhoon situation, and the party convention was held in an untact manner without on-site speeches. Both ruling and opposition parties held members' general meetings in a non-face-to-face manner, with each member's office connecting via video conferencing systems.

However, the majority of bills are still proposed using the traditional method. Considering that 4,429 bills were proposed as of that day, only about 0.014% of bills were proposed electronically. System improvements remain a task. There were zero bill proposals from August 27 to 28, when the National Assembly was closed. Although non-face-to-face proposals should be possible as intended, the electronic legislative system operates only on the National Assembly's internal network, so aides submitting bills and Legislative Affairs Office staff receiving them cannot use it while working remotely.

Amending the National Assembly Act is also a challenge. The People Power Party has expressed concerns that the ruling party's dominance will accelerate as spatial constraints disappear. According to Article 111, Paragraph 1 of the National Assembly Act, voting must be conducted in the plenary session hall. The quorum required to convene the plenary session is one-fifth of the 300 members, i.e., 60 members, and a majority attendance (151 members) is required to pass an agenda. Under social distancing level 2, which limits indoor gatherings to 50 people or fewer, the plenary session cannot be held. In response, National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug said, "I will prepare for non-face-to-face video meetings on the premise of bipartisan agreement on amending the National Assembly Act," adding, "We can revise the legal system so that all non-face-to-face meetings and votes are only possible with bipartisan agreement."

Some lawmakers express regret that active exchanges of opinions on-site are not possible. A first-term lawmaker said, "It is difficult to express opinions even in on-site members' general meetings, and since it is conducted online, it is hard to get the floor and speaking is burdensome." Some speculate that the 'animal assembly' incident during last year's fast-track (rapid processing agenda) crisis will also become impossible.

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