[President Moon's Policy Speech] Hollow "Cooperation"... Confrontation Over "Three Laws" and CIO

Potential for Conflict Depending on Supplementary Measures such as the 3% Rule
People Power Party Raises Veto Power Controversy over CIO
Democratic Party Willing to Amend the Law

President Moon Jaein is entering the National Assembly main building on the 28th to deliver the policy speech, while members of the People Power Party are shouting slogans. Photo by Yoon Dongjoo doso7@

[Asia Economy, reporter Park Chuleung] On October 28, President Moon Jaein once again emphasized "cooperation" in his policy speech at the National Assembly, but the issues he presented were topics of fierce confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties. President Moon mentioned the "three major economic laws" and the launch of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), thereby lending support to the ruling party. However, with the People Power Party effectively opposing the launch of the CIO and demanding a special prosecutor investigation into the Lime and Optimus scandals, they have entered into a struggle against the ruling party, making it unlikely that "cooperation" will be achieved.

President Moon explained next year's budget centered on the "Korean New Deal," stating that he would "strengthen the role of fiscal policy." The People Power Party, however, has announced plans for a "microscopic review" and large-scale cuts, citing concerns over fiscal soundness. Under these circumstances, it appears increasingly likely that the year-end political landscape will be marked by conflict between the ruling and opposition parties, rather than cooperation.

In his policy speech, President Moon spent most of his time focusing on the "joint success of quarantine and the economy," before sending a message to the political community that "cooperation is even more essential in this unprecedented crisis." He said, "The people want the ruling and opposition parties to compete fiercely, but also to engage in bipartisan cooperation to overcome the national crisis," adding, "The achievements of cooperation will shine even brighter when we meet the people's demands for 'livelihood' and 'reform.'" He continued, "I ask for your cooperation in passing the three major fair economy laws-the Commercial Act, the Fair Trade Act, and the Act on the Supervision of Financial Groups-and hope that the reform bills for power institutions, such as the Police Act and the National Intelligence Service Act, will also be enacted."

In the case of the "three major economic laws," the business community is strongly opposed, so the Democratic Party is collecting opinions but maintains that it will not deviate significantly from the government's proposal. Since Kim Chongin, the People Power Party's Emergency Committee Chairman, had previously promoted these bills, the People Power Party does not officially oppose them. However, considering the concerns of the business community, it is unlikely they will accept the bills unless sufficient supplementary measures are prepared. The Democratic Party has not yet presented amendments on key issues such as the separate election of audit committee members and the 3% voting rights cap for the largest shareholder and related parties. This suggests that the process will become more difficult as negotiations move into the details.

President Moon also said, "I hope the delay in launching the CIO, which embodies the public's desire for investigations without sanctuary and for reform of power institutions, will finally come to an end." The CIO is the most contentious issue between the Democratic Party and the People Power Party. According to the CIO Act, it should have been launched last July, but the People Power Party repeatedly delayed nominating a candidate for CIO chief and only submitted their recommendation at the last minute.

Although the People Power Party has selected two members for the nomination committee, there are widespread expectations that they will exercise their "veto power" over the CIO chief. This is because they still consider the CIO Act unconstitutional. The Democratic Party, in order to end the "delay," has stated that if the People Power Party continues to exercise what it sees as an unreasonable veto, it will amend the CIO Act and complete the process by next month. If this happens, the opposition is certain to protest, claiming that their veto power guaranteed by the CIO Act is being neutralized by force, and cooperation will be lost. Taking this into account, President Moon has now called for a "decision."

President Moon emphasized the importance of a "National Assembly for the people's livelihood," mentioning the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act, the Distribution Industry Development Act, the Small Business Protection Act, and the Employment Insurance Act, and specifically asked the National Assembly to play a role for the socially disadvantaged.

Although the justification of "livelihood" appears reasonable, each bill presents significant challenges. In the case of the Distribution Industry Development Act, there are proposed amendments to further regulate large supermarkets, but there is strong opposition arguing that the difficulties faced by traditional distributors due to increased online consumption must be considered. Regarding the Employment Insurance Act, the government proposed an amendment last September to extend coverage to special-type workers such as insurance planners and delivery drivers. The business community opposes this, arguing that the opinions of labor, management, and the parties involved have not been sufficiently collected, and the People Power Party is expected to take this into account as well.

President Moon regards the Korean New Deal as the core for overcoming the crisis, but the People Power Party has dismissed it as merely a "performance-building measure." Earlier this month, the party launched a special committee to monitor government policies and decided to conduct a thorough review of the related budget. Joo Hoeyoung, floor leader of the People Power Party, said, "Since we are pushing forward with the Korean New Deal, a policy expected to fail in many respects, we will form a special committee for intensive monitoring." Lee Yong, the committee chair, criticized, "It is nothing more than a rebranding of the Korean-style New Deal that former President Roh Moo-hyun failed at, so it is just a 'Baek Deal.' It is a 'Fake Deal' in that it is filled with simple hardware changes, and a 'Patchwork Deal' in that its content is full of hasty measures."

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