Rice Control Act and Lee Sang-min Face Partisan Confrontation... February Extraordinary Session Also a Thorny Path

Agreement on February Extraordinary Session from February 2 to 28
Ruling and Opposition Clash over Lee Sang-min's Responsibility in Itaewon National Investigation

[Asia Economy Reporters Oh Ju-yeon and Park Jun-i] The February extraordinary session of the National Assembly is expected to be a thorny path. Although the ruling and opposition parties agreed on the schedule for the extraordinary session following the plenary session on the 30th of this month, there is a high likelihood that contentious bills, including the issue of the Minister of the Interior and Safety's responsibility related to the Itaewon disaster follow-up measures, will continue to clash.

Oh Young-hwan, the floor spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Korea, said at the National Assembly on the 26th, "The responsibility of Minister Lee Sang-min is clear," adding, "He clearly violated the legal obligations given to the minister in charge under the Framework Act on Disaster and Safety Management and neglected his duties, resulting in the serious outcome of 159 casualties." He also emphasized, "Regarding the Grain Management Act, whether to submit it must be voted on according to the National Assembly Act," and "We will strongly demand the Speaker of the National Assembly to put it to a vote in accordance with the National Assembly Act." This is a move to pressure the Speaker of the National Assembly, as the plenary session cannot directly consider the Grain Management Act, which was unilaterally passed by the Democratic Party in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee earlier this month.

Earlier, the ruling and opposition parties agreed on the schedule for the February extraordinary session. A plenary session for agenda processing is also scheduled for the 30th. Song Eon-seok, the senior deputy floor leader of the People Power Party, said to reporters after a meeting of senior deputy floor leaders of both parties, "The 403rd National Assembly extraordinary session will be held for 27 days from February 2 to 28." Song explained, "The opening ceremony will be held on February 2, and immediately after the opening ceremony, a plenary session will be held to handle the request for attendance of the Prime Minister and government members for the negotiation group representatives' speeches and interpellation."

The negotiation group representatives' speeches will be held at 10 a.m. on February 13 and 14, with the Democratic Party speaking on the 13th and the People Power Party on the 14th. The plenary session for agenda processing will be held on February 24, and if necessary, an additional plenary session can be held at 2 p.m. on the 28th. The interpellation will proceed in the order of politics, diplomacy, unification, and security on the 6th of next month; economy on the 7th; and education, society, and culture on the 8th.

Regarding contentious bills such as the safety freight system and the Grain Management Act, which were not processed in the previous plenary session, Song said, "Sunset laws and contentious bills are under review by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, but we have not decided on a processing policy nor reached an agreement," adding, "We will try our best to reach an agreement." However, Jin Sung-jun, the senior deputy floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, explained, "According to the National Assembly Act, if the Legislation and Judiciary Committee does not complete its review within 60 days, the standing committee can decide to directly submit the bill to the plenary session," and "While other sunset laws still have review periods left in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, the Grain Management Act does not require the committee's review to exceed 60 days, so it should be processed according to the National Assembly Act, which is the Democratic Party's position."

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