Different from the 21st National Assembly... Democratic Party Accelerates 'Corporal Chae Special Prosecutor Act'

Plan to Pass Special Prosecutor Act Before Corporal Chae's First Death Anniversary
Broadcasting Three Laws Also Expected to Be Passed Soon

The Democratic Party of Korea has launched a speed campaign to pass bills just two days after forming standing committees. It is expected to process bills within a month, including immediately addressing the 'Special Prosecutor Act on Allegations of Investigation Interference in the Death Case of Corporal Chae (Chae Corporal Special Prosecutor Act)' in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, which was proposed with the opening of the 22nd National Assembly.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the party meeting held at the National Assembly on the 11th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

On the afternoon of the 12th, the Democratic Party plans to hold a plenary meeting of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee solely and send the Chae Corporal Special Prosecutor Act to the bill subcommittee. Although it is customary to have a 20-day deliberation period for legislative proposals, Chairman Jeong Cheong-rae of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee is expected to address the agenda immediately.

The Democratic Party aims to pass the Special Prosecutor Act by July 19, the first anniversary of Corporal Chae's death in the line of duty. Considering the possibility of President Yoon Seok-yeol exercising his veto power, they say they have no choice but to proceed rapidly. Kim Seung-won, the Democratic Party's designated secretary for the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, said on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' that "telecommunication companies delete call records after one year," and "since Corporal Chae's date of death is July 19, and the call records indicating investigation interference are concentrated between late July and early August, if those records are deleted, the truth about the investigation interference could be buried, so we are hurrying."

This is a completely different flow from the 21st National Assembly. Although Democratic Party lawmaker Park Ju-min introduced the Chae Corporal Special Prosecutor Act as the main proposer on September 7 last year, Kim Do-eup of the People Power Party, who was then chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, refused to put the bill on the agenda, forcing a bypass through the fast-track procedure. To designate a bill as fast-track, approval by at least three-fifths of the total members of the National Assembly, i.e., 179 votes, is required, so the Democratic Party, with 168 seats, chose to ally with the Justice Party. Even after the fast-track designation in October last year, it took six months for the bill to be submitted to the plenary session. Bills designated as fast-track can take up to 330 days to be processed, including up to 180 days in the standing committee, 90 days in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, and 60 days in the plenary session.

With the Democratic Party holding the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, the Chae Corporal Special Prosecutor Act can theoretically be sent to the plenary session in one day. The National Assembly Act stipulates a 20-day deliberation period before submitting a legislative bill to a standing committee, but allows exceptions to skip this period with the committee's approval. Even if the People Power Party opposes the Special Prosecutor Act and convenes an agenda adjustment committee to discuss disagreements for up to 90 days, this can also be pushed through by numbers. According to the National Assembly Act, six members are appointed to the agenda adjustment committee, with the first negotiation group taking three seats and other party members filling the rest. If even one progressive lawmaker from parties like the Justice Party is included, the Democratic Party can secure at least four members, which is two-thirds of the committee, enabling immediate approval.

Since the Democratic Party has repeatedly emphasized achieving legislative results with the opening of the 22nd National Assembly, it is expected to accelerate other bills as well. The Democratic Party held a meeting of the Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Committee the day before and appointed Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Hyun as the opposition party secretary. They also plan to promptly process the three broadcasting laws (Broadcasting Act, Broadcasting Culture Promotion Act, and Korea Educational Broadcasting System Act amendments), which President Yoon vetoed. Kang Yoo-jung, the Democratic Party's floor spokesperson, said the day before, "We plan to pass the Chae Corporal Special Prosecutor Act, the three broadcasting laws, the Livelihood Recovery Support Fund Act, and the Special Act on Jeonse Fraud within the session of the June extraordinary National Assembly."

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