Commercial Act Amendment Passes Plenary Session...People Power Party Launches Filibuster Over Crime of Distorting the Law Bill

The so-called "third Commercial Act amendment bill," which mandates the cancellation of treasury shares held by companies, passed the plenary session of the National Assembly on the 25th under the leadership of the ruling party.

In the afternoon, the National Assembly held a plenary session and passed the alternative partial amendment to the Commercial Act containing these provisions, with 175 in favor and 1 abstention out of 176 lawmakers present.

The amendment stipulates, in principle, that when a company acquires its own shares, it must cancel them within one year, and that a fine of up to 50 million won will be imposed for violations. However, exceptions can be granted with the approval of the general meeting of shareholders if the treasury shares are used for purposes such as compensation for executives and employees or employee stock ownership plans.

Yonhap News Agency

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The People Power Party applied for a filibuster (unlimited debate) the previous day, when the Commercial Act amendment bill was introduced to the plenary session, in an attempt to block it. However, the filibuster ended after 24 hours following a motion to end debate by the broader pro-ruling bloc, and in the subsequent vote, the Commercial Act amendment bill cleared the parliamentary hurdle under the initiative of the ruling party.

Meanwhile, the crime of law distortion (a Criminal Act amendment), one of the Democratic Party of Korea's so-called "three judicial reform bills (law distortion crime, increase in the number of Supreme Court justices, and constitutional complaint against court decisions)," was introduced to the plenary session. The bill stipulates that if a judge or prosecutor intentionally distorts the law or fabricates facts during trial proceedings, they will be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.

However, as controversy over potential unconstitutionality was raised not only by opposition parties but also by civil society, the Democratic Party revised parts of the bill. Democratic Party floor spokesperson Baek Seungah met with reporters at the National Assembly after a closed-door general meeting of lawmakers and said, "The law distortion crime has been revised from the original draft," adding, "The amendment will apply only to criminal cases, and clarity has been added to each subparagraph to minimize the potential for unconstitutionality."

The People Power Party launched another filibuster against the Democratic Party's three judicial reform bills. Representative Cho Baesook of the People Power Party took the floor as the first speaker. As a result, the law distortion crime bill is expected to be put to a vote on the afternoon of the 26th, after 24 hours have passed.

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