"Direct Referral of Nursing Act a Brutal Act"... Ruling Party Caught Off Guard, Urgent Inspection of the Jeonsang Committee

Holding a Current Issues Review Meeting and Checking Major Issues by Standing Committees
7 Bills Pending in the Judiciary Committee Referred Solely to the Welfare Committee
Joo Ho-young: "The Democratic Party Uses Any Means Necessary"

[Asia Economy Reporters Hyunju Lee and Youngwon Kim] On the 10th, the People Power Party held an emergency issue review meeting after the Democratic Party of Korea forcibly passed seven bills, including the Nursing Act, by directly submitting them to the plenary session the previous day.

Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party, presided over the issue review meeting and said, "The February National Assembly should be focusing on important bills, but the signs are not good," adding, "The Democratic Party forcibly pushed for the impeachment of Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min, and yesterday committed an outrage by directly submitting seven bills from the Health and Welfare Committee to the plenary session."

He said, "As the ruling party, we bear unlimited responsibility for state affairs, so we decided to hold today's issue review meeting in preparation for the extraordinary session of the National Assembly," and added, "We will take time to review all major issues of the February National Assembly by each standing committee."

The Democratic Party of Korea directly submitted seven bills, including the Nursing Act and the Medical Service Act Amendment, which had been pending for a long time in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, to the plenary session by resolution of the standing committee the previous day. Jung Chun-sook, chairwoman of the Welfare Committee from the Democratic Party, proposed the direct submission by authority during the full meeting despite the failure of an agreement between the ruling and opposition party floor leaders, and forced a secret ballot. The remarks of Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyu-hong, who said that additional discussions were necessary due to the significant conflict between the ruling and opposition parties, were not accepted.

Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party, is speaking at the current issues inspection meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 10th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The previous day, the Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee also attempted to directly submit the Broadcasting Act Amendment to the plenary session, but it was blocked by a proposal for bipartisan consultation by independent lawmaker Park Wan-joo. Floor leader Joo expressed concern, saying, "Democratic Party lawmaker Jung Cheong-rae can do this anytime if he wants."

Floor leader Joo criticized, "It seems the Democratic Party does not hesitate to use any means," and said, "They appear to be a group completely unfamiliar with the basics of the rule of law. They distort and twist even a single article and seem unwilling to refuse anything to achieve their goals."

He continued, "The Democratic Party ignored the cooperation and healthy tension in the National Assembly, which had been maintained by having the Speaker and the Chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee from different parties, monopolized both positions, and drove the National Assembly into dysfunction," and criticized, "Even after difficult normalization, the Democratic Party’s arrogance and dogmatism in neutralizing the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and bringing bills to the plenary session, despite their election defeat, shows they are completely unaware of public sentiment."

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