National Assembly Holds Plenary Session Before Lunar New Year...Non-controversial Livelihood Bills Expected to Pass

129 Bills Including the "Jeonse Fraud Victims Act"

The National Assembly will convene a plenary session on the 12th, ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday period, to pass non-controversial livelihood-related bills. As concerns have grown recently over legislative delays, the plan is to minimize any legislative vacuum by giving priority to handling livelihood bills on which there is no disagreement.

Seoul Yeouido National Assembly Building. The Asia Business Daily DB

The ruling and opposition parties are expected to pass 129 bills on this day, including an amendment to the Child Allowance Act that raises both the eligible age and the payment amount for child benefits. A so-called "Jeonse Fraud Victims Act," aimed at expanding eligibility for public rental housing support for victims of jeonse fraud, and an amendment to the Personal Information Protection Act that strengthens penalties for personal information infringements such as voice phishing, will also be introduced.

A special act titled the "Act on Strengthening Essential Medical Care and Eliminating Regional Disparities in Healthcare (New Enactment)" will also be tabled. It aims to establish a basis for securing stable funding for essential medical fields such as emergency care, trauma care, and childbirth, and to build a support system to resolve regional disparities in medical services.

The agenda will also include a special act on relief for victims of humidifier disinfectants, centered on the establishment of a compensation review committee under the Prime Minister, and an amendment to the Act on Gender Equality in Employment that would allow spouses to use paternity leave during pregnancy.

However, judicial reform bills and the third set of amendments to the Commercial Act, where there are major differences between the parties, are not expected to be introduced. While the Democratic Party plans to continue its reform-focused legislative drive during the February extraordinary session, the People Power Party has warned of countermeasures such as a filibuster.

Meanwhile, National Assembly Speaker Woo Wonshik recently asked lawmakers to attend the plenary session wearing Hanbok, saying, "Wearing Hanbok, our precious cultural heritage, will be a good way to show the public the political community's commitment to harmony within politics and unity among the people."

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