Kim Tae-nyeon at Cheong meeting: "National Assembly must convene within legal deadline; Judiciary Committee's self-review authority should be abolished"

Kim Tae-nyeon, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly on the 26th and delivering opening remarks. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] On the 28th, Kim Tae-nyeon, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, during a luncheon meeting between President Moon Jae-in and the floor leaders of ruling and opposition parties held at the Blue House, insisted on convening the National Assembly within the legal deadline and abolishing the authority of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee to conduct systematic and grammatical review.

There was a debate between the two floor leaders regarding the abolition of the systematic and grammatical review authority, and it was reported that President Moon expressed willingness to consider the proposal by Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the United Future Party, to introduce a special minister system.

On the afternoon of the 28th, Floor Leader Kim held a briefing at the National Assembly and said, "I told Floor Leader Joo that I hope the National Assembly convenes normally within the time stipulated by the National Assembly Act."

He said, "The Working National Assembly Promotion Team, led by Assemblywoman Han Jeong-ae, concluded after a meeting that the core of a working National Assembly is to remove systems and practices that prevent work, and the first thing is to reduce the power of the floor leaders. A member said that to me directly."

He also said, "I mentioned the example of the United States. The U.S. Congress is open all year round, and there is no negotiation for convening; instead, the floor leaders decide on matters such as how to handle holidays like Easter break," adding, "The President also said it would be good if the National Assembly doors were open all year round."

He added, "At the point when the walk had lasted 30 minutes, I said, 'You have kept a lot of time open for the leaders of both parties,' and the President stopped walking and said, 'If the National Assembly opens on time and processes bills on time, I will carry you on my back.' Regarding Floor Leader Joo's reaction, I said, 'Floor Leader Joo also said he wants to cooperate.'"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding the abolition of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee's authority for systematic and grammatical review, it was reported that a debate took place between the two floor leaders.

Floor Leader Kim said, "Floor Leader Joo argued that it is necessary, but I argued that the authority for systematic and grammatical review should be abolished."

He said, "In 1951, the authority for systematic and grammatical review became a mandatory provision. At that time, there were not many legal professionals in the National Assembly, and only a few legal professionals belonged to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, so the systematic and grammatical review was assigned to that committee," adding, "Now, one out of six members is a legal professional, and they are well positioned in every standing committee."

He continued, "Floor Leader Joo said that 58% of systematic and grammatical reviews were withdrawn in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, and I told him that in the 20th National Assembly, 56 bills that passed standing committees were discarded due to systematic and grammatical review by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee."

Floor Leader Kim said, "Floor Leader Joo spoke on various topics. One of them was that since Floor Leader Joo is a former special minister, if a member takes on the role of a special minister, they can communicate with opposition party members, which would increase the volume of bill processing."

He added, "The President told the Chief of Staff to discuss it once."

When asked whether the 'Permanent Consultative Body of Ruling and Opposition Parties' was discussed, he replied, "We talked about meeting frequently to communicate and have dialogue. I think occasions like today’s will be created often."

Regarding whether there was any discussion about the ongoing controversy surrounding the Justice and Memory Foundation and Yoon Mi-hyang, the Democratic Party elected member, he answered, "It was not specifically about Representative Yoon."

When asked whether the third supplementary budget included provisions for paying the second nationwide disaster relief fund, he said, "There was nothing like that."

Floor Leader Kim described the overall atmosphere of the meeting as "a candid conversation. The atmosphere was good today," adding, "The opposition floor leader spoke a lot, and when necessary, the President gave many opinions and responses."