Kim Sung-joo "Yoon's Veto Exercise? Violates Separation of Powers"

Democratic Party Lawmaker, KBS Radio Interview
"Veto on Bills Promised and Proposed During Candidacy?"

Kim Seong-ju, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized President Yoon Seok-yeol's exercise of the veto power on the Nursing Act, saying it "directly violates the constitutional spirit of the separation of powers."

In an interview with KBS Radio's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strongest Current' on the 17th, Rep. Kim said, "If the president repeatedly exercises the veto power on bills legislated by the National Assembly according to the will of the people through majority vote, it is a nullification of the legislative branch."

Rep. Kim said, "President Yoon promised to enact the Nursing Act during his candidacy, and the People Power Party had already proposed the Nursing Act legislation, so at first, I thought he would not go as far as to exercise the veto power, but after seeing the recent party-government consultations, I judged, 'In the end, he is going to veto it.'"

He continued, "According to a video posted by the Nursing Association, on January 11 last year, then-presidential candidate Yoon Seok-yeol visited the Nursing Association and said, 'If I become president, I will enact the Nursing Act without being influenced by the vested interests of the medical establishment.'" He pointed out, "It was unimaginable that the president would oppose and exercise veto power against a bill that he promised during his candidacy and that his ruling party voluntarily proposed."

Regarding the ruling party's criticism of the Democratic Party's sole passage of the Grain Management Act and the Nursing Act as 'opposition party's legislative dictatorship,' Rep. Kim dismissed it as a "false accusation." He said, "Those who proposed the bills themselves, after two years of extensive discussion and debate, reached an agreement, but when it came to the decisive vote to pass the Nursing Act, they walked out and then accused the Democratic Party of legislative dictatorship." He rebutted, "The exercise of veto power is administrative dictatorship. The president is heading down the path of dictatorship."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He then explained the background of the Nursing Act legislation. Rep. Kim said, "The most important thing is that patients are not only inside hospitals but also many more outside hospitals," and explained, "The current Medical Service Act only regulates the actions of doctors, nurses, and medical technicians for patients inside hospitals."

Rep. Kim added, "For patients outside hospitals, such as elderly and disabled people who have difficulty moving and cannot come to hospitals, the current Medical Service Act cannot do anything," and elaborated, "There is a home nursing system, but except for measuring blood pressure and body temperature, other medical acts are prohibited as violations of the Medical Service Act."

He continued, "Through the enactment of the Nursing Act, while still recognizing the doctor's guidance, we want to open the way for nurses to visit patients at home where doctors do not go and take care of them," and criticized, "It is a law for the health of the people, but President Yoon absurdly claims that the Nursing Act harms public health."

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