The Grain Management Act Also Faces Plenary Vote Today... March National Assembly 'Full of Challenges'

Possibility of Grain Management Act Being Passed in Plenary Session on the 27th
Difficulty in Gaining Momentum for Election Law Amendments

With the March extraordinary session of the National Assembly convened, the political deadlock is expected to worsen. This is because the political arena has sharply clashed over key issues such as the vote on the arrest motion for Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea and the Grain Management Act. There are concerns that the revision of the election law, which was targeted for completion within March, may also struggle to gain momentum.

According to political circles on the 27th, the extraordinary session has been convened solely by the Democratic Party since the 1st. Previously, the ruling and opposition parties clashed over the convening date of the March extraordinary session. The People Power Party stated that convening the session on the 6th of next month would not disrupt the agenda, whereas the Democratic Party insisted on convening it on the 1st.

The political conflict over the convening schedule of the extraordinary session appears to reflect the political sensitivity surrounding the arrest motion for Representative Lee, leaving no room for compromise.

On the same day, both parties issued assembly orders and launched an all-out effort regarding the vote on the arrest motion for Representative Lee.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is coughing during the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 27th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

In addition to the arrest motion against Representative Lee, there is a high possibility that the amendment to the Grain Management Act, which mandates government purchase of surplus rice production, will be processed in the plenary session. The Democratic Party has bypassed the Legislative and Judiciary Committee, chaired by the People Power Party, by directly referring the Grain Management Act to the plenary session.

Regarding the Grain Management Act, there is speculation that President Yoon Suk-yeol may exercise his veto power. If the president vetoes the bill, it must return to the National Assembly for reconsideration, requiring attendance of a majority of all members and approval by two-thirds or more. Since People Power Party members account for more than one-third of the total members, numbering 115, the likelihood of passage is low. The Democratic Party initially prepared a softened amendment that had passed the Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee. Park Hong-geun, the Democratic Party floor leader, stated at the Supreme Council meeting that "We did not insist solely on the positions of the Democratic Party and farmers' groups but sufficiently reflected the concerns of the government, ruling party, and rice market to create the final amendment," and added, "The Democratic Party will definitely pass the amended 'Grain Management Act,' a livelihood bill, at today's plenary session."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Dual special investigations are also a wild card. The Democratic Party is preparing special investigations into stock price manipulation involving Kim Geon-hee, the wife of President Yoon, as well as the 5 billion Club special investigation related to the Daejang-dong development scandal. Given the strong criticism of the prosecution's investigation, there is a growing possibility of joint opposition party responses. Additionally, the rejection of the nomination of Lee Je-bong, recommended by the People Power Party, as a member of the Past Affairs Committee for Reconciliation and Healing at the plenary session on the 24th has become another source of conflict between the ruling and opposition parties. The unexpected rejection led People Power Party lawmakers to stage a mass walkout, preventing the passage of related bills. With trust between the parties damaged, this is acting as a negative factor. The issue of lawyer Jeong Soon-shin, who was appointed and then had his appointment canceled as head of the National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters, is also being approached by the opposition as a problem with the personnel verification system, signaling further conflict.

Because of these factors, there are concerns that discussions on election law reform will struggle to gain momentum during the March extraordinary session. Initially, Speaker Kim Jin-pyo had proposed that if multiple electoral district reform bills were prepared by the Special Committee on Political Reform, a plenary committee meeting would be held during the March extraordinary session to pursue election system reform. However, with the People Power Party and the Democratic Party still unable to reconcile their positions on electoral district reform, the sharply confrontational political situation is inevitably acting as a negative factor for election law reform discussions.

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