Yoon's Second Veto in Over 40 Days... "Opposition's Political Conflict Inducement" Dilemma

Ruling Party and Government Propose Veto on Nursing Act
President Yoon May Exercise Veto at Tomorrow's Cabinet Meeting
Presidential Office "Significantly Concerned About One-Sided Bill"

President Yoon Suk-yeol is expected to exercise his veto power on the Nursing Act bill on the 16th. This will be President Yoon's second veto after the amendment to the Grain Management Act on the 4th of last month.

A senior official from the Blue House stated in a phone interview with Asia Economy on the 15th, "(President Yoon) will take one more day to deliberate." Since the Nursing Act bill was forcibly passed by the opposition party rather than through bipartisan agreement, it is widely expected that the same principle applied to the Grain Management Act will be applied. However, there is also a sense of burden regarding President Yoon's second veto exercise in just over 40 days.

President Yoon is expected to receive a report from Cho Kyu-hong, Minister of Health and Welfare, the minister in charge of the Nursing Act, at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow and decide on the veto of the Nursing Act bill. Previously, the government and the ruling party held a high-level party-government meeting the day before and concluded that "if nurses are separated from the current medical system, trust and cooperation among professional groups in the medical field will be broken, likely leading to increased conflicts," and that "the Nursing Act could undermine trust and cooperation among healthcare professionals and pose serious risks to public health."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Blue House shares the same position. Given the sharply conflicting interests and the social controversy caused by the issue, as well as the fact that the bill does not reflect the ruling party's opinions, exercising the veto is deemed inevitable. Concerns were also raised that the collapse of the medical system could threaten the public's right to health. It is judged that the Nursing Act is unlikely to increase cooperation among professional groups and may instead affect the livelihoods of nursing assistants and long-term care workers.

One of the reasons President Yoon is likely to exercise the veto is that the purpose of the Nursing Act bill?'improving nurses' working conditions'?can be sufficiently addressed through government policies rather than legal measures. A Blue House official added, "We cannot simply accept one side's interests as they are," and "Improving nurses' working conditions can be adequately guaranteed through government measures."

However, the fact that the president is exercising a second veto just over 40 days after the veto of the Grain Management Act is a variable. Repeated vetoes could be perceived as rejecting the will of the National Assembly. When vetoing the Grain Management Act last month, President Yoon said, "The government continuously explained the side effects of this bill to the National Assembly, but it was unilaterally passed without proper debate, which is very regrettable," making this decision 13 days after the bill passed the plenary session and four days after it was sent to the government.

The Blue House and the ruling party are concerned that the opposition party is only handling bills that provoke the president's veto. The Democratic Party of Korea is creating a political narrative that "repeated vetoes are acts of defying the people's will," thereby escalating the issue. Following the Grain Management Act and the Nursing Act, it is expected that the Yellow Envelope Act and the Broadcasting Act will also be pushed through.

The Blue House and the government-ruling party coalition have stated that even if President Yoon sends the Nursing Act bill back to the National Assembly, discussions to improve nurses' working conditions will continue. Although it is not a presidential pledge, it is interpreted that President Yoon, who showed a commitment to improving nurses' working conditions during his presidential campaign, intends to support this cause. When the Nursing Act returns to the National Assembly, it will be submitted again to the plenary session for a re-vote, but since the opposition bloc does not hold the required 180 seats for passage, it is highly likely to be rejected as was the case with the Grain Management Act.

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