National Assembly Secretariat Union: "Need for Increased Staffing Due to Growing Legislative Activities... Not a Political Issue"

Kukbohyeop Strongly Refutes 'Blind' and 'Opaque' Increase Criticism
"Intentional Distortion... Legislative Reinforcement After National Assembly Act Passage"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] The National Assembly Secretariat Branch of the Public Officials Labor Union has strongly refuted the People Power Party Aide Council (Gukbohyeop)'s criticism of the National Assembly Secretariat's plan to increase staff by 55 as a "blind and secretive increase," calling it an "intentional distortion."

With the amendment of the National Assembly Act on December 22 last year aiming for a permanent National Assembly, legislative activities of lawmakers have increased, highlighting the necessity of reorganizing the National Assembly Secretariat's structure to strengthen support organizations. They also criticized Gukbohyeop for interpreting the necessary structural reorganization for legislative support as a political issue and intentionally distorting the facts.

On the 26th, the National Assembly Secretariat Branch stated, "The Secretariat's structure is not a political issue, and there should be no distinction between ruling and opposition parties in strengthening legislative support capabilities," adding, "Considering the difficulties faced by National Assembly Secretariat staff due to manpower shortages, the structural amendment must be passed in this session."

They also rebutted the statement by the People Power Party Aide Council (Gukbohyeop) that referred to this structural reorganization as a blind and secretive increase. The Secretariat Branch said, "Both lawmakers' aides and National Assembly Secretariat staff exist to support lawmakers' legislative activities," and "Anyone involved in the National Assembly knows that expanding legislative support personnel, such as review reports due to increased bills, is necessary."

Furthermore, they said, "We remember that aides have been increased by as many as 600 over the past 10 years (March 12, 2010, and December 12, 2017), and efforts to establish a Grade 3 aide position have been continuously pursued." They questioned, "Then what exactly does the People Power Party Aide Council, which is sowing discord over the Secretariat's structure, want?"

Regarding Gukbohyeop's claim that this involves taxpayers' money, they emphasized, "If the structural amendment leads to an increase in staff, naturally the budget will increase accordingly," adding, "If the increase in budget strengthens legislative support capabilities more than the budget increase itself, this is the way to serve the National Assembly."

The National Assembly Secretariat Branch also added, "The Secretariat structural amendment proposal submitted in 2018 was not properly discussed for over two years and was limited to the minimum increase of Grade 6 or below staff in May 2020 due to the opening of the Assembly Hall," and "The actual structure was decided to be discussed as a top priority in the 21st National Assembly, concluding the 20th National Assembly."

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