Ruling Party Suggests Presidential Veto if Opposition Forces Forced Passage of Nursing Act

The People Power Party has gathered the opinions of its members to recommend that President Yoon Seok-yeol exercise his veto power if the opposition party forcibly passes the Nursing Act at the plenary session on the 27th.

On the afternoon of the 25th, Yoon Jae-ok, floor leader of the People Power Party, met with reporters after a party meeting held at the National Assembly to discuss contentious bills and said, "If (the Democratic Party) refuses to negotiate and forcibly passes this bill alone, as the ruling party, we cannot just watch this situation without any special measures," adding, "If the Nursing Act, which has been directly referred to the plenary session, is forcibly passed, I think we have no choice but to recommend the President exercise his veto power."

However, he emphasized that negotiations with the opposition party will continue until the plenary session is held. Floor leader Yoon said, "If the Democratic Party forcibly passes the Nursing Act directly referred to the plenary session, considerable confusion is expected in the medical field, and the entire medical system could be significantly shaken and problematic, so we will negotiate with the Democratic Party as much as possible."

When asked about criticism of the repeated exercise of veto power as a 'loss of cooperation,' Floor leader Yoon responded, "Cooperation is the most desirable," but added, "Since they continue to rush forward with majority power, refuse to negotiate, and engage in legislative unilateralism, the ruling party has no choice but to use the veto power as the only means to respond to the social conflicts that arise. I believe the public will understand this point."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

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The ruling party has proposed two revised mediation plans regarding the 'Nursing Act mediation proposal' while contacting medical organizations, but the Korean Nurses Association opposes them. Park Dae-chul, chairman of the Policy Committee, said at a press conference after the party meeting that "On the 11th, there was a meeting between the ruling and opposition parties, and on the 18th, during a meeting with the Nurses Association, the first revised proposal was presented," adding, "From the 19th, we submitted a second revised mediation proposal to the Korean Medical Association, suggesting that the name be changed to the 'Nurses Act.'"

Chairman Park explained, "Regarding the core issues, except for the Nurses Association, other organizations have expressed willingness to accept it," and added, "At the meeting with the Nurses Association on the 24th to present the second revised proposal, they showed a stance that seemed to revert the issues of community and scope of work back to the starting point, and because of their firm position, we were unable to even propose changing the Nursing Act to the Nurses Act. Therefore, mediation has not yet been achieved, and a consensus has not been found."

According to Chairman Park, the main point of the first revised proposal is to adjust and include the term 'community,' which was missing from the initial mediation proposal, and to specify the prohibition of nurses opening clinics independently. Article 1 of the Nursing Act states, "This Act stipulates necessary matters concerning nursing so that all citizens can receive high-quality nursing benefits at medical institutions and in the community." Medical organizations, including the Medical Association, oppose the Nursing Act because the inclusion of the term 'community' leads to claims that nurses could open clinics independently in the community without doctors.

The proposal to change the name to the 'Act on the Treatment of Nurses' or the 'Nurses Act' and to divide the scope of nurses' duties between this law and the Medical Service Act is similar to the existing mediation proposal. Chairman Park said, "We discussed dividing the scope of nurses' duties between the Nursing Act and the Medical Service Act and resolving the issue through discussions," and explained, "All contents, including community matters and scope of work, will include what the Nurses Association wants in terms of content, so I proposed that only the name of the bill be changed from the Nursing Act to the Act on the Treatment of Nurses, respecting the first mediation proposal."

However, since the Nurses Association insists on the name 'Nursing Act,' which encompasses not only nurses but also nursing personnel, negotiations are expected to be difficult. The Nurses Association stated in a statement last year, "If the Nursing Act is enacted, the improvement of treatment for nurses, nursing assistants, and care workers will naturally follow. Therefore, the name of the bill should be the Nursing Act, not the Nurses Act."

A representative of the Nurses Association said in a phone interview with Asia Economy on the same day, "The Welfare Committee has held three meetings on the Nursing Act, and the ruling and opposition parties and the government have agreed on the current adjustment proposal submitted to the National Assembly. All problematic issues have been removed," and expressed opposition, saying, "I cannot understand why the ruling party suddenly voices opposition and threatens to exercise veto power."

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