Special Act Excluding Statute of Limitations for National Crimes Passed in Plenary Session... 3-Year Extension of National Funding for Free Education in High Schools

A special law excluding the statute of limitations for state crimes against humanity committed by state power has passed the National Assembly plenary session.

On the 31st, the National Assembly held a plenary session and passed the "Special Act on the Statute of Limitations for State Crimes Against Humanity" with 179 votes in favor, 100 against, and 5 abstentions out of 289 members present.

The core of this bill is to exclude the statute of limitations for perpetrators when state crimes against humanity such as death or injury caused by harsh acts occur, thereby ensuring punishment. It also restricts the application of the statute of limitations for claims for damages related to this.

State crimes against humanity include △ murder committed by a public official without just cause while performing official duties △ cases where a military commander causes serious injury or death △ cases where a public official responsible for investigation or prosecution fabricates or conceals the facts of a case during the performance of official duties.

The bill applies even to crimes committed before the law's enforcement if the statute of limitations has not yet expired. In the case of claims for damages, it applies regardless of whether the statute of limitations has expired, even if the damage occurred before the law's enforcement. The bill will take effect from the date of promulgation.

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There was also opposition from the ruling party. The People Power Party criticized the bill as a law to oppress public officials responsible for investigation and trial. Jo Baesuk, a member of the People Power Party, said, "The bill was hastily passed unilaterally despite opposition from ruling party members without sufficient discussion in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee." On the other hand, Seo Younggyo of the Democratic Party argued, "When someone dies or is injured due to violence committed by state agencies, the statute of limitations should be abolished so that such organized crimes will no longer occur."

On the same day, the plenary session also passed a partial amendment to the Local Education Finance Grant Act, which extends by three years the special provision for the national government to support part of the costs required for free high school education. Specifically, the amendment extends the temporary provision requiring the national government, local governments, and metropolitan and provincial offices of education to share the costs of free high school education from the original deadline of December 31, 2024, to December 31, 2027.

With the passage of this amendment, the Ministry of Education's policy stance that school education finance should principally come from local education finance grants is expected to face obstacles. Although the Ministry of Education maintains that free education can be implemented with local education finance, the opposition party argues that the central government is shifting financial burdens to education offices, thereby lowering the quality of education and insists on extending the sunset clause.

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