Coin Investment Losses Snowball... Economic Bill Ultimately Carries Over the Year

Urgent Bills Including the Digital Asset Basic Act Pending in the National Assembly
Some Opposition Members Call for "January Special Session"... Ruling Party Says "Lee Jae-myung Shield"
Sunset Systems Like the Safe Freight Rate System Ultimately Headed for Abolition

[Asia Economy Reporters Oh Ju-yeon and Geum Bo-ryeong] The National Assembly, which changed hands due to the regime change in March under a 'minority government with opposition majority,' remained at a standstill until the last day of this year. Not only the sunset laws, such as the Labor Standards Act allowing an additional 8 hours of work per week for workplaces with fewer than 30 employees, which will be abolished after the end of the year, but also major economic bills including the Digital Asset Basic Act to protect virtual asset investors hit hard by the Luna incident are dormant in the National Assembly.

Some within the Democratic Party are mentioning the convening of a special session of the National Assembly in January next year to handle key sunset laws, but the People Power Party opposes this, calling it a "bulletproof National Assembly" for Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party leader, making it highly likely that livelihood bills will not pass the National Assembly for the time being.

According to the National Assembly on the 30th, the Political Affairs Committee, which oversees the entire financial industry, has stalled the Digital Asset Basic Act (Virtual Asset Act) and the Samsung Life Insurance Act. The Virtual Asset Act defines virtual assets currently outside the regulatory framework and includes measures to protect investors. Following the Luna incident in May this year and the bankruptcy of FTX, the world's second-largest virtual asset exchange, last month, which caused significant damage to coin investors, this bill was considered urgent to be passed this year.

The 'Partial Amendment to the Act on the Recovery of Excessive Profits from Reconstruction,' which reduces reconstruction charges for long-term holders, and the 'TK New Airport Special Act,' which involves building an integrated new airport in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk (TK) region, are also pending in the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee. Although ruling party lawmakers led the reconstruction excess profit recovery bill and proposed three similar bills, none have even been discussed.

Recently, Daegu City changed the mandatory closure days of large marts to weekdays, and although 17 bills to amend the Distribution Industry Development Act to allow local governments to adjust mandatory closure days have been proposed, these too are stalled in the Industry, Trade and Energy Committee. The 'National Finance Act Amendment,' which aims to introduce fiscal rules supporting the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's 'sound fiscal policy,' is also pending. Fiscal rules are mechanisms to prevent a surge in national debt; the government prepared fiscal rules in September to keep the management fiscal balance deficit ratio within 2% if the national debt ratio exceeds 60%, and the bill was sponsored by Park Dae-chul of the People Power Party.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the National Assembly's bill information system, as of this day in the 21st National Assembly, 13,256 bills remain pending without being processed. These bills, not processed within the year, must wait for the next National Assembly session in the coming year. In particular, sunset laws such as the Health Insurance Act, which supports health insurance from the national treasury, the Labor Standards Act, and the truck safety freight system were originally agreed upon by both ruling and opposition parties to be processed this year.

Some within the Democratic Party have publicly demanded the convening of a special session in January next year to handle these sunset laws. Park Chan-dae, a pro-Lee Jae-myung member of the Democratic Party's Supreme Council, said on MBC Radio on the 29th, "Regarding the sunset laws and the national audit ending on the 7th of next month, an extension is inevitable," adding, "Shouldn't the special session of the National Assembly be convened again in January?" He drew a line by saying there has been no discussion within the party about convening a special session.

In response, Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party, told reporters after a floor strategy meeting at the National Assembly on the same day, "Because of members' regional activities at the beginning of the year and during the Lunar New Year holidays, even if the special session is convened in January, the National Assembly hardly opens before the Lunar New Year and has not opened either," adding, "Nevertheless, if (the Democratic Party) insists on opening the National Assembly, that would be a bulletproof National Assembly." He added, "Our party has comprehensively judged through the process according to the National Assembly Act that there is no need to open the National Assembly after this special session ends." The December special session of the National Assembly will end on January 8 next year.

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