Rice Management Act, State Property Act, Board of Audit and Inspection Act... The 169-Seat Giant Opposition Party Forcing Legislation

Legislation Unilaterally Passed at Agriculture, Food, and Fisheries Subcommittee Day Before
Various Bills Processed Rapidly Under Leader Lee Jae-myung's Initiative

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] The opposition party, holding 169 seats, began to assert its power as the largest party in the National Assembly with the start of the regular session. Led by Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, the party is expected to clash more with the government and ruling party by pushing bills that counter government policies or strengthen the powers of the National Assembly.

On the 15th, the National Assembly's Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee held a subcommittee meeting to review bills and passed an amendment to the Grain Management Act, which mandates the market isolation of rice. This was an issue that Lee Jae-myung emphasized the need for measures on during a meeting on the previous day, the 14th.

However, the bill was passed without the consent of the members from the People Power Party. Members from the People Power Party had agreed to listen to explanations about the government proposal after a 10-minute recess during the subcommittee meeting, but they claimed that the Democratic Party attempted to pass the bill immediately after resuming without any consultation between the ruling and opposition parties. Park Hyung-soo, the floor spokesperson for the People Power Party, reacted in a statement saying, "Chairman Kim Seung-nam of the subcommittee should resign immediately, and the Democratic Party subcommittee members involved in the rushed passage should apologize."

The passage of the Grain Management Act amendment is considered symbolically significant. It could mark the beginning of pushing party-led bills under the leadership of Lee. A committee official from the Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee said, "It was an unexpected forced passage," adding, "It showed the determination to pass key bills at all costs."

Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Soo-jin also took the initiative to propose the partial amendment to the State Property Act, which requires the government to obtain the National Assembly’s consent before disposing of state-owned property. This is expected to have considerable impact as well. This is related to Lee’s criticism of the government’s policy to sell state-owned property. Lee previously stated on Facebook, "Privatization of state-owned property is to fatten a small privileged group," and announced plans to push for amendments to the State Property Act. In particular, bills aimed at enhancing the National Assembly’s oversight and checks on the executive branch are being pushed, drawing opposition from the ruling party. Representative examples include the Audit Board Act amendment proposed by lawmaker Shin Jeong-hoon on the 14th and the so-called enforcement decree control bill, the National Assembly Act amendment, proposed last month by Democratic Party lawmaker Jang Kyung-tae.

Legislative push by the opposition during the regular session is expected to continue. The Democratic Party announced "22 legislative tasks for people’s livelihood" and plans to pass them during this regular session. Lee was reported to have hinted at pushing legislation aggressively during a recent meal with the party’s floor leadership, saying, "The opposition should actively pursue legislation if even 51% agree."

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