National Assembly Rapidly Passes 'River Act Amendment Bill' in Plenary Session

Expansion of Local River Financial Support
"Minimizing Flood Damage"

The National Assembly recently passed the 'River Act Amendment' on the 27th during a plenary session, which had been intensively discussed due to the recent heavy rainfall.

The National Assembly approved the River Act Amendment with 249 votes in favor and 1 abstention out of 250 members present.

The amendment primarily mandates that the central government carry out river construction projects for local rivers. For local rivers that are significant for flood control purposes, the state will provide financial support to minimize flood damage in local rivers.

The above photo is not directly related to the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The amendment passed the Environment and Labor Committee, the relevant standing committee, the day before, then went through the Legislation and Judiciary Committee in the morning, and proceeded to the plenary session in the afternoon. The amended law will take effect immediately upon promulgation by the government.

Three other bills related to flood prevention for the Geum River, Nakdong River, Yeongsan River, and Seomjin River?amendments to the Watershed Water Management and Resident Support Act?were also passed at the plenary session that day. These bills provide the legal basis for using watershed management funds to support projects responding to water-related disasters such as droughts and floods.

Meanwhile, the Urban River Basin Flood Damage Prevention Measures Act (Urban Flood Act), which passed the Environment and Labor Committee the previous day, had its decision deferred at the Legislation and Judiciary Committee for further discussion. Since it is a newly enacted law, there are calls for more in-depth deliberation. It is expected to be processed at the earliest during the August extraordinary session of the National Assembly.

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