"Stronger Commercial Act" Led by Democratic Party Passes Plenary Session... All Five Key Bills Including Yellow Envelope Act Approved (Comprehensive)

The second amendment to the Commercial Act passed the National Assembly plenary session on August 25.

On the 25th, a 'stronger' amendment to the Commercial Act is being passed in the National Assembly plenary session under the ruling party's leadership. The amendment mandates the introduction of cumulative voting for listed companies with assets exceeding 2 trillion won and expands the separate election of audit committee members from the current one member to two or more. Photo by Hyunmin Kim

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On the morning of the same day, the National Assembly ended the unlimited debate (filibuster) by putting it to a vote, and then brought the bill to a vote, passing it with 180 votes in favor and 2 abstentions out of 182 members present.

The People Power Party opposed the bill, calling it the "Economic Rebellion Act," and did not participate in the vote.

The core of the amendment is to make cumulative voting mandatory for listed companies with assets of 2 trillion won or more, and to expand the separate election of audit committee members from the current one member to two or more. This is an additional amendment following the earlier revision to the Commercial Act (passed on July 3), which expanded the duty of loyalty for corporate directors to include both the company and shareholders.

The second amendment to the Commercial Act was introduced to the plenary session the previous day, but a filibuster (an unlimited debate as a legitimate means of delaying proceedings) began at the request of the People Power Party. From the People Power Party, Kwak Gyutaek (2 hours 36 minutes), Cho Baesook (3 hours 13 minutes), Song Seokjun (4 hours 59 minutes), and Joo Jinwoo (5 hours 54 minutes, the final debater) spoke in opposition to the bill. From the Democratic Party, Oh Gihyung (2 hours 4 minutes), Kim Namgeun (2 hours 49 minutes), and Kim Hyunjung (2 hours 13 minutes) spoke in support of the bill.

In their opposition speeches, People Power Party lawmakers emphasized that the amendment would undermine corporate autonomy and open the door for minority speculative capital to intervene unfairly, describing it as a "corporate strangulation" bill.

In response, Democratic Party lawmakers stressed that the legislation is necessary to protect the interests of ordinary shareholders in accordance with the principle of shareholder equality and to revitalize the capital market.

After 24 hours had passed since the start of the filibuster, a vote to end the debate began at 9:43 a.m. on the same day. This was in response to the Democratic Party's submission of a motion to end the filibuster the previous day.

With the passage of the second amendment to the Commercial Act, the filibuster standoff between the ruling and opposition parties over five key bills, including the Broadcasting Three Laws and the Yellow Envelope Act (amendment to the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act), which had continued since the beginning of this month, has come to an end for now. The Broadcasting Three Laws and the Yellow Envelope Act are bills on which the Yoon Suk Yeol administration exercised its right to request reconsideration (veto).

However, as the Democratic Party plans to process an amendment in September to expand the scope and duration of the three special prosecutor investigations related to former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife, the confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties is expected to intensify further. There is also the possibility of another filibuster standoff, as the People Power Party opposes the bill to strengthen special prosecution.

After the plenary session, both parties continued their confrontation outside the chamber. Park Soo-hyun, chief spokesperson for the Democratic Party, said in a National Assembly briefing, "The People Power Party's unlimited debate was a 'three-zero failure' with no substance, no attitude, and no urgency. Rather than blocking the passage of the bills, it only blocked the People Power Party's own path," adding, "While the unlimited debates on the Broadcasting Three Laws, the Yellow Envelope Act, and the second amendment to the Commercial Act have concluded, the conduct shown by the People Power Party will remain forever in the public's memory."

Song Eon-seok, acting chairman and floor leader of the People Power Party, stated at a party meeting, "All responsibility for the economic collapse and the destruction of people's livelihoods caused by these bad laws lies entirely with the Democratic Party and the Lee Jae-myung administration," adding, "We strongly condemn the arrogance and dogmatism of the government and ruling party, who are plotting economic rebellion. After reviewing the unconstitutionality of these bad laws, we will consider additional responses."

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