Ruling Party with Broken Brakes... Endless Legislative Sprint

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] The first regular session of the 21st National Assembly ended with the ruling party's 'legislative dominance.' The Democratic Party of Korea succeeded in passing reform legislation based on its numerical superiority, but the process of handling bills sparked much controversy, including 'disregard for procedures,' resulting in significant aftereffects.

On the 10th, the Democratic Party convened a special session of the National Assembly from that day until July 10 to hold consecutive plenary sessions. During the plenary session on the same day, the party voted on the amendment to the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office Act (the Corruption Investigation Office Act) and then planned to immediately present and attempt to pass an amendment to the National Intelligence Service Act, which transfers the National Intelligence Service's counterintelligence investigation authority to the police.

If the People Power Party proceeds with another filibuster, the Democratic Party plans to secure cooperation from progressive parties and independent members to meet the three-fifths (180 seats) requirement, ending the filibuster within 24 hours and moving to a vote on the 11th. Through this method, the Democratic Party aims to complete the reform legislation process by the weekend, the 12th.

Amid ongoing criticism from the opposition, centered on the 'ruling party's legislative dominance,' many negative remarks remain regarding the disregard for procedures during the committee bill processing.

Earlier, on the 8th, the Democratic Party forcibly passed the amendment to the Corruption Investigation Office Act at the full meeting of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. To block the forced passage, the People Power Party requested a subcommittee meeting of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, which ended in a closed session after about 70 minutes. Thirty minutes later, Yoon Ho-jung, the chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, convened the full meeting, presented the amendment to the Corruption Investigation Office Act, and processed it within six minutes, blocking opposition members' debate.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The process of passing the amendment to the Fair Trade Act, which maintained the exclusive prosecution rights of the Fair Trade Commission, also sparked controversy. In the Political Affairs Committee's subcommittee, the Democratic Party sought the consent of Bae Jin-gyo, a Justice Party lawmaker holding the casting vote, by passing a bill that abolished the exclusive prosecution rights. However, in the subsequent full meeting of the Political Affairs Committee, they reversed their position, submitted an amendment to maintain the exclusive prosecution rights, and immediately passed it. This bill was quietly processed in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee without any opposition debate.

Additionally, the Labor Union Act, which allows dismissed and unemployed individuals to join labor unions, was passed without the five-day deliberation period required for systematic and legal review under the National Assembly Act.

However, Chair Yoon asserted confidently that there was no 'surprise presentation or disregard for debate' during the handling of these bills. At the previous day's full meeting of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, Chair Yoon stated, "Describing the immediate presentation after the subcommittee's resolution as a surprise presentation is a clear distortion of facts."

He continued, "We provided an opportunity for debate, but because People Power Party members collectively shouted loudly, it was impossible to conduct the debate normally, so it was concluded. The reason the debate became impossible was not due to the chair's management of the proceedings but because of the People Power Party members' obstruction of the process," he claimed.

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