How Little Work Has Been Done... Everyone Promises a 'Working National Assembly' Ahead of the General Election

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] With the general election just two months away, a wave of pledges for a 'working National Assembly' is sweeping through the political sphere. This stems from self-reflection on the 20th National Assembly, which was notorious as the 'worst National Assembly,' oscillating between a 'wild National Assembly' and a 'plant National Assembly.'

On the morning of the 17th, Cho Jung-sik, the Policy Committee Chair of the Democratic Party of Korea, announced the party's general election pledge in the 'political reform sector' at the National Assembly, stating, "We will create a working National Assembly and a trusted National Assembly."

The Democratic Party first promised to mandate the convening of extraordinary sessions and the operation of standing committees starting from the 21st National Assembly. They plan to require the convening of extraordinary sessions on the 1st day of months without regular sessions (on the 11th for December) and to automatically open standing committees immediately after the extraordinary session to set the agenda and meeting times.

They also pledged to improve the system so that citizens aged 18 and older can submit 'citizen legislative petition bills' to the National Assembly through the National Assembly information system, and to establish a provisional 'Citizen Legislative Petition Review Committee' involving citizens to review proposed laws from the public's perspective.

In cases where members of the National Assembly are absent from meetings (plenary or committee) without justifiable reasons for more than 10% of total attendance days, they pledged to gradually reduce their salaries and introduce disciplinary regulations such as suspension of attendance for absences.

Furthermore, they announced plans to introduce a national recall system allowing the dismissal of members of the National Assembly who violate prescribed duties, while also making the National Assembly Ethics Special Committee permanent and strengthening its functions.

Not only the Democratic Party but also other parties and prospective candidates are rushing to present similar pledges, making the 'working National Assembly' pledge no longer optional but a mandatory issue.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, on the 4th, Ahn Cheol-soo, the Preparatory Committee Chair of the People’s Party, promised a complete revision of the Political Parties Act and the National Assembly Act, pledging to create a 'working politics, working party, and working National Assembly.' The main points include ▲disclosure of citizen convenience policy development and political project achievements ▲real-time sharing of attendance status ▲operation of the National Assembly centered on subcommittees ▲prevention of abuse of the fast-track procedure.

Democratic Party lawmaker Roh Woong-rae stated, "We will introduce a no work, no pay system in the National Assembly and cut the salaries of lawmakers according to their work to establish a working National Assembly," while Kim Man-soo, a Democratic Party prospective candidate for Bucheon Ojeong district, pledged to apply the no work, no pay principle, introduce a recall system for lawmakers, and give up parliamentary immunity.

These pledges in the political sphere reflect self-reflection on the 20th National Assembly, which failed to fulfill its duties due to political strife. In fact, as of December 2019, the 20th National Assembly introduced a total of 23,133 bills but only processed 6,721, resulting in a processing rate of just 29.05%. This is significantly lower compared to the 19th National Assembly’s bill processing rate of 41.74%.

However, a political insider pointed out, "If we look for the reason for the low bill processing rate, the biggest cause is the deadlock in the National Assembly due to political strife," adding, "If we truly want to create a working National Assembly, the first step is to promise cooperation and compromise."