Nursing Act Forced Passage Imminent... Will Yoon Exercise Veto Again?

As opposition parties such as the Democratic Party of Korea and the Justice Party announced on the 27th that they would push through the 'Nursing Act' bill in the plenary session, the ruling party also took a hardline stance, drawing attention to whether President Yoon Seok-yeol will exercise his veto power (reconsideration request right) again, following the 'Grain Management Act.' However, if the veto power is exercised not only on the Grain Management Act but also on the Nursing Act, it is highly likely to cause political deadlock, and since the Nursing Act was also included in the past presidential election 'Pledge Wiki,' the political burden is considerable.

Lee Eun-joo, the floor leader of the Justice Party, criticized on BBS's 'Jeon Young-shin's Morning Journal' in the morning when asked by the host about "the possibility of President Yoon exercising veto power," saying, "If the president exercises veto power even on the bills passed in this plenary session, is this a direct confrontation with the legislative branch? That is what I think."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

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She said, "The Nursing Act is a law that defines the scope and content of nursing personnel's work, excluding medical technicians, in a way that is not different from the framework of the Medical Service Act, and it has undergone long-term social discussions," adding, "If a bill that has been deliberated and processed like this is vetoed for political reasons of confrontation with the opposition, then I am very concerned about how the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's national agenda will be discussed and accepted in the National Assembly in the future."

This can be interpreted to mean that if the opposition's bills are unconditionally vetoed in a ruling party minority and opposition majority situation, the government's national agenda will also fail to pass the National Assembly. Lee Jeong-mi, leader of the Justice Party, also pointed out on MBC's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' the day before, saying, "If all bills that differ from one's own will are vetoed, then why should the National Assembly even exist?" and "Let's not do democracy at all. Then the Presidential Office, the People Power Party, and the prosecution will run the country. They might as well declare this outright."

The issue of exercising veto power on the Nursing Act was somewhat anticipated since President Yoon exercised veto power on the Grain Management Act amendment earlier this month. As the ruling party minority and opposition majority situation failed to find a compromise, it seems the president's veto power is being used. The Grain Management Act amendment was reconsidered in the National Assembly afterward but was ultimately rejected.

While the Grain Management Act was vetoed on the grounds of being a 'populist bill,' the Nursing Act, having been included in President Yoon's presidential campaign 'Pledge Wiki,' carries a different political weight if vetoed this time. Former leader Lee Jun-seok pointed out on his social media on the 25th, "I initially set up the framework for the Pledge Wiki, but the policy headquarters filled in the content. It is right to check the circumstances of how it was posted through some consensus process within the policy headquarters and explain that first," adding, "If the veto is exercised without that process, an unprecedented situation could occur where one vetoes their own pledge."

He added, "Of course, they might try to pass it off by saying 'that Nursing Act and this Nursing Act are different,' but if so, they need to explain that step by step," expressing concern that "otherwise, the credibility of many pledges made during the presidential campaign by the policy headquarters could be destroyed in one blow."

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