The Final Regular National Assembly of the Moon Administration... Ruling Party Predicts Acceleration of 'Legislative Dominance'

Yun Hojung Floor Leader "Last Chance to Pass Bills, Will Make Every Effort"
Song Younggil Leader Also Reaffirms Commitment to Passing Media Arbitration Act in Regular Session
Opposition Party Predicts Clash Over Consultative Body Discussions

[Asia Economy Reporters Oh Ju-yeon and Jeon Jin-young] At the last regular National Assembly session of the Moon Jae-in administration, which opened on the 1st and will run for 100 days, the ruling party, the Democratic Party of Korea, is strongly expressing its determination to "complete the national agenda." The Democratic Party has been criticized for "legislative rampage" due to its attempts to forcibly pass laws such as the Media Arbitration Act and the Private School Act, and this stance is expected to be further strengthened in the September National Assembly.

Yoon Ho-jung, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, said at the morning Supreme Council meeting, "This is the last chance to pass bills within the Moon administration's term," adding, "We will do our utmost to make this a time of recovery, inclusion, and leap forward for the people." The Democratic Party, which passed all the contentious bills at the plenary session of the National Assembly the previous day?including the Surgical Room CCTV Installation Act, the Comprehensive Real Estate Tax Act, the Private School Act, the Basic Carbon Neutrality Act, and the Google In-App Payment Prevention Act?pledged to fully commit to completing the Moon administration’s national agenda.

Yoon Ho-jung, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 1st and delivering an opening remark. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

Song Young-gil, the party leader, also announced the opening of the regular National Assembly session, emphasizing, "We will make every effort to promote the three major legislative tasks: completing the national agenda, recovering from COVID-19, expanding future growth engines, and institutional reforms for a strong Republic of Korea."

In particular, during this regular session, the party firmly declared its intention to pass the amended Media Arbitration Act, which failed to pass in the August session, and set a clear deadline. Song said, "The law to remedy damage caused by fake news is agreed to be submitted and processed on the 27th. This is not a phrase that can be done or not done, but a clear deadline has been set," pressuring the opposition party.

However, the opposition parties clearly stated that the "Media Arbitration Act Consultative Body," agreed upon by both the Democratic Party and the People Power Party the previous day, is "not a body created to pass the bill as proposed by the Democratic Party," signaling that strong clashes between the ruling and opposition parties may occur over the next month. Kim Ki-hyun, floor leader of the People Power Party, appeared on MBC radio that day and pointed out, "The agreement draft does not include the expression that the Democratic Party’s proposed bill will be submitted," emphasizing, "The Democratic Party may think of passing the original bill as is or with some modifications, but the People Power Party is proceeding on the premise of preparing a consensus bill through the consultative body."

Besides this, the Democratic Party also announced plans to pass the Korean New Deal 2.0 Act, the Sejong National Assembly Building Installation Act, and the Newspaper Act during the 100-day regular session. In particular, the amendment to the Newspaper Act is expected to become another contentious issue following the Media Arbitration Act, as it is part of the ruling party’s push for media reform.

However, the People Power Party, which has regained seven standing committee chairmanships, is determined to block the ruling party’s unilateral actions and expose the current administration’s failures through the National Assembly audit. The focus is expected to be on criticizing the government’s COVID-19 quarantine response, vaccine rollout delays, nuclear phase-out policy, and real estate failures during the audit, putting pressure on the government and the ruling party.

Additionally, fierce battles are anticipated over the government-submitted 604 trillion won "super budget" and the resignation proposal of People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Hee-sook, who is under suspicion of real estate speculation.

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