National Assembly Passes Local Currency Act and Local Education Finance Grant Act Led by Democratic Party

Mandatory National Fiscal Support for Issuance of Local Currency
Extension of National Funding for Free High School Education by Three Years

The National Assembly, led by the Democratic Party, passed several bills in a plenary session, including the amendment to the Act on the Promotion of Use of Local Love Gift Certificates (Local Currency Act), which mandates national fiscal support for the issuance of local government gift certificates. Other bills passed include the amendments to the Local Education Finance Grant Act and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which the ruling and opposition parties had agreed to prioritize for voting.

During the plenary session held that afternoon, the Local Currency Act was passed with 161 votes in favor, 61 against, and 14 abstentions out of 236 members present. Previously, the floor leaders of both parties had agreed during a luncheon meeting to process bills with relatively little controversy before debating and voting on more contentious bills, such as the Broadcasting Act amendment, the Yellow Envelope Act (Labor Law amendment), and the second amendment to the Commercial Act, which were expected to be subject to filibusters (unlimited debates). However, all People Power Party lawmakers who participated in the vote either opposed or abstained.

Under the current law, the allocation of national funds for the issuance of local currency is at the government's discretion, but with the passage of the amendment, it has become mandatory. The amendment also requires the government to establish a basic plan every five years and conduct fact-finding surveys to promote the use of local currency.

The Local Currency Act had also passed the National Assembly plenary session last year under the leadership of the Democratic Party, but was scrapped when former President Yoon Suk-yeol exercised his right to request reconsideration (veto) during the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.

On the 4th, at the plenary session held in the National Assembly, an amendment to the Partial Revision Bill of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (alternative) was passed. 2025.8.4 Photo by Kim Hyunmin

The amendment to the Local Education Finance Grant Act, which extends the period of national funding for free high school education by three years until 2027, also passed the plenary session (203 in favor, 29 against, 27 abstentions out of 259 present). The amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which designates artificial intelligence (AI) digital textbooks as educational materials rather than official textbooks, was also passed (182 in favor, 87 against, 1 abstention out of 250 present).

Seo Ji-young and Jung Sung-guk, lawmakers from the People Power Party, argued that downgrading the status of AI digital textbooks "deprives children from low-income families of new experiences." In response, Ko Min-jung, a Democratic Party lawmaker, countered, "The Yoon Suk-yeol administration's AI textbook policy is a reckless policy that does not foster AI talent, but rather reduces students to mere problem-solving machines."

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