Despite Extreme Confrontation Between Ruling and Opposition Parties, Livelihood Bills Are Processed for Now

Agreement to Address Non-Controversial Bills First
Passage of 5·18 Compensation Law Amendment, etc.
Decision to Continue Negotiations on Prosecutor General Confirmation Hearing

[Asia Economy Reporters Oh Ju-yeon and Geum Bo-ryeong] On the 21st, the ruling and opposition parties held a plenary session of the National Assembly and prioritized the passage of about 90 livelihood bills. This was possible thanks to an agreement to first handle non-contentious bills despite extreme confrontations at the full meeting of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee the previous day. However, conflicts over the distribution of standing committee chairmanships and the adoption of witnesses and reference persons for the confirmation hearing of Kim Oh-soo, the nominee for Prosecutor General, are expected to continue.

During the morning plenary session, the amendment to the Act on Compensation for Victims Related to the May 18 Democratic Movement was passed. The amendment expands the scope of beneficiaries to include families of the May 18 Democratic Movement victims and others, and provides medical benefits, among other supports. Following this, the plenary session also passed the 'Act on Improvement of Employment for Domestic Workers,' the 'Partial Amendment to the Special Act on Repayment of Student Loans after Employment,' the 'Act on Support for Catastrophic Medical Expenses,' and the 'Amendment to the Welfare Support Act for Children with Disabilities.'

Song Young-gil, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said at the Supreme Council meeting that "Small and medium-sized merchants and vulnerable groups are in extreme situations, so it is time for the ruling and opposition parties to unite with bipartisan strength," adding, "We must expedite the passage of bills addressing the pressing livelihood issues." The People Power Party agreed with this. Jeon Ju-hye, the party’s floor spokesperson, told reporters after the meeting, "While we strongly regret the absence of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee chairman and procedural violations in appointing the floor leader that occurred the previous day, we fully agree on the necessity of processing the 99 bills that were agreed upon by both parties and are making efforts accordingly."

However, separate from the passage of livelihood bills, the ruling and opposition parties agreed to continue negotiations regarding the adoption of witnesses and reference persons for the confirmation hearing of nominee Kim. The previous day, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, dominated by the ruling party, approved the hearing plan for Kim’s confirmation hearing, drawing opposition party protests. Since the adoption of witnesses and reference persons is to be conducted through consultation with the opposition, a tug-of-war is expected to continue.

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