'Online Platform Act and Virtual Asset Act'... 'Challenges' in February National Assembly

Uncertain Legislation Push in February
Opposing Views Between Ruling and Opposition on Public Hearing
Virtual Asset Law, Opposition "Aiming for March Passage"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] The Online Platform Fairness Act (Online Platform Act) and the Digital Asset Basic Act (Virtual Asset Act), which the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee is pushing as key bills, are expected to be difficult to pass even in the February session of the National Assembly.

According to Asia Economy's coverage on the 14th, the Political Affairs Committee of the National Assembly agreed between the ruling and opposition parties to hold a public hearing on the Online Platform Act during the plenary session on the last day of the February extraordinary session, March 9.

The Online Platform Act was addressed as a major bill in the 21st National Assembly but did not proceed to detailed legislative discussions. However, after the Kakao outage incident in October last year, the Democratic Party of Korea expressed its determination to legislate platform regulations. Floor leader Park Hong-geun also emphasized the enactment of the Online Platform Act in his speech as the leader of the negotiating groups in the National Assembly the day before.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, with the public hearing scheduled for the February session, legislative progress is expected to be difficult. During the previous administration, the Political Affairs Committee held one public hearing on online platforms, but with the change of government, the opposition party explains that another round of discussions is necessary. A member of the opposition in the Political Affairs Committee stated, "The current government prefers to first enact regulations focusing on corporate self-regulation and then supplement the legislation later," adding, "Since detailed coordination is needed, it is difficult to reach an agreement at this time."

The Virtual Asset Act is also not gaining momentum in the February session. The Political Affairs Committee plans to review the Virtual Asset Act at the first subcommittee on bill examination on the 27th. Since the Virtual Asset Act was submitted to the subcommittee last year, it has been deprioritized and has not yet begun review. It is reported that Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Jong-min is pushing to hold a public hearing for discussions on the Virtual Asset Act by the end of February.

However, since there are no disagreements between the ruling and opposition parties regarding the Virtual Asset Act, there is a possibility of rapid progress if the March extraordinary session is convened. An opposition member of the Political Affairs Committee said, "If the March extraordinary session schedule is set, we will start discussions at the subcommittee on the 27th aiming for passage in March," adding, "The Financial Services Commission also supports initially enacting regulations on types of unfair trading practices and sequentially supplementing the legislation."

Since the Virtual Asset Act was a campaign pledge of President Yoon Seok-youl during last year's presidential election, the ruling party is in favor of swift passage. However, they anticipate that reaching an agreement with the opposition party will be difficult because of this. A ruling party official said, "Even if a public hearing is scheduled, it does not seem easy to approve the agenda at the subcommittee on the 27th," adding, "I don't understand why we need to hold another public hearing when one has already been conducted."

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