"Yoon's Veto of Nursing Act Is Autocratic"... Opposition Pushes for Re-vote in Plenary Session

President Yoon Seok-yeol Exercises Veto on Nursing Act on 16th
Lee Jae-myung: "Politics of Broken Promises Should Not Exist"

President Yoon Suk-yeol's exercise of his second veto power on the Nursing Act has intensified the political battle between the ruling and opposition parties. The Nursing Act bill, which has been sent back to the National Assembly, is expected to be discarded following a re-vote.

On the 17th, Park Kwang-on, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated at an expanded executive meeting held at the National Assembly, "Since this issue is directly related to the people's health rights, we will proceed according to the democratic procedures stipulated in the National Assembly Act," adding, "We will proceed with a re-vote."

Democrats call for "Nursing Act re-vote" vs People Power Party accuses Yoon of "unilateral rush"

Earlier, President Yoon, at the 20th Cabinet meeting held at the Presidential Office in Yongsan, Seoul, deliberated and approved the veto of the Nursing Act bill. This came about 20 days after the bill was passed in the National Assembly plenary session on the 27th of last month, led by the Democratic Party.

Regarding this, Floor Leader Park harshly criticized, saying, "After threatening the legislative power of the National Assembly through executive orders, now the veto politics is endangering the separation of powers," and added, "The exercise of veto power is another word for arrogance, arbitrariness, and unilateralism." He further stated, "The veto power only serves to amplify social conflicts," and urged, "To gain new momentum in state affairs, I hope the current political paralysis will be resolved."

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Park Kwang-on, floor leader, are conversing at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 15th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Kim Sung-joo, senior deputy chairman of the Policy Committee, also appeared on KBS radio that day, saying, "It was unimaginable that the president would oppose and exercise veto power against a bill he promised during his candidacy and that the ruling party itself proposed," and criticized, "(The People Power Party) has broken the agreement they themselves participated in discussing. It is a comedy and a fraud." He added, "Those who proposed the bill reached an agreement after two years of extensive discussion and debate, but when it came time to decisively process it through a vote, they walked out and are now accusing the Democratic Party of legislative dictatorship," and said, "The exercise of veto power is precisely administrative dictatorship." Kang Hoon-sik, opposition whip of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee, also pointed out on MBC radio, "This is the president's own campaign promise, agreed upon by both ruling and opposition parties, and the National Assembly Act was thoroughly observed even during the direct referral to the plenary session," calling him "the first president in constitutional history to reject his own campaign promise."

On the 15th, the Korea Nurses Association delegation (left), continuing their hunger strike to urge the promulgation of the Nursing Act at the Korea Nurses Association in Jung-gu, Seoul, and members of the Korean Medical Association in Yongsan-gu conducting a relay hunger strike opposing the Nursing Act and the Medical License Revocation Act. (Photo by Yonhap News)

On the other hand, the People Power Party criticized the Democratic Party for pushing through the contentious bill as a political move to provoke President Yoon's veto. Yoo Sang-beom, senior spokesperson for the People Power Party, said on BBS radio in the morning, "The Democratic Party continuously proposes divisive laws, so-called populist bills targeting specific groups, and the government and ruling party oppose and exercise veto power against these," adding, "The Democratic Party is legislating with the political aim of framing next year's election as a lack of communication and the president's unilateral rush." "The Democratic Party continuously proposes divisive laws, so-called populist bills targeting specific groups, and the government and ruling party oppose and exercise veto power against these," he said.

Regarding President Yoon's veto of the Nursing Act the previous day, he stated, "From both content and procedural perspectives, the president could not help but exercise veto power. If this law were passed as is, conflicts within the medical system would intensify, which directly relates to the health and lives of the people."

Nursing Act sent back to National Assembly... heading toward repeal?

If the Nursing Act is resubmitted to the National Assembly plenary session for a re-vote, it is highly likely to be rejected and discarded. This is because a re-vote in the plenary session requires a majority attendance of all members and approval by at least two-thirds of those present. It is difficult for the opposition party alone to pass it. Previously, the Grain Management Act, which President Yoon also vetoed, was ultimately rejected in the plenary session. If rejected, the bill is automatically discarded.

The Nursing Act aims to separate nursing-related matters from the Medical Service Act, defining the scope of work between nurses and nursing assistants, and improving nurses' working conditions and treatment. However, doctors, nursing assistants, and emergency medical technicians opposed it, calling it a "nurses' privilege law." In response, the People Power Party proposed a mediation plan to the Democratic Party on the 11th, renaming the Nursing Act as the "Nurses' Treatment Act" and setting the educational requirement for nursing assistants to "specialized high school or above," but no compromise was reached.

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