Will the 'Service Industry Act,' Controversial for Medical Privatization, Be Enacted This Time?

The Planning and Finance Committee to Hold Public Hearing from 2 PM
Standing Committee Discussions Scheduled for Next Month's Extraordinary National Assembly

Yoon Hoo-duk, Chairman of the Planning and Finance Committee, is presenting an agenda at the plenary meeting of the Planning and Finance Committee held at the National Assembly on the afternoon of July 28 last year. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyun-joo] Discussions to enact the Framework Act on Service Industry Development (Seobalbeop) are set to officially begin in the National Assembly.

The National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee announced that it will hold a public hearing on the Seobalbeop at the committee meeting room starting at 2 p.m. on the 25th.

The Seobalbeop is a representative deregulation bill first proposed in the 18th National Assembly in December 2011. However, at that time, the opposition Democratic Party and civic groups opposed the bill due to concerns over medical privatization, leading to its repeated rejection in the 19th and 20th National Assemblies.

The Democratic Party intends to address privatization concerns by including exemption clauses for medical-related laws such as the Medical Service Act and the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act in the current bill. On the 28th of last month, the Democratic Party's Regulatory Innovation Promotion Team also promised the enactment of the law during a meeting with Park Yong-man, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

As a framework law, the Seobalbeop must go through the relevant standing committee's bill subcommittee, full committee meeting, and plenary session approval after the National Assembly public hearing. Starting with this public hearing, the ruling and opposition parties plan to discuss the bill in the standing committee during the next extraordinary session of the National Assembly.

This Seobalbeop will be primarily discussed based on the bills proposed last July by Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Won-wook and People Power Party lawmakers Ryu Seong-geol and Chu Kyung-ho. The bill stipulates that the government, through deliberations by the Service Industry Development Committee or the Service Industry Advancement Committee, will establish mid- to long-term plans every five years for the development of the service industry and support related industries. It includes provisions to move away from manufacturing-centered research and development toward establishing an R&D concept reflecting the characteristics of the service industry, with the government providing financial and tax support.

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