Bill to Form Recommendation Committee with Legal Experts if People Power Party Does Not Exercise Veto Right
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] Park Beom-gye, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated that the launch of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Agency (HCIA) can no longer be delayed and warned that if the People Power Party continues to withhold its recommendation rights, he will make a "drastic decision." This suggests that the ruling party's forceful processing is inevitable.
Park, a member of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, said in a phone interview with Asia Economy on the 28th, "After the Chuseok holiday, as soon as the subcommittee schedule is set, we will additionally submit the amendment bill for the HCIA Act," adding, "The HCIA chief must be appointed by November. If that does not happen, I am thinking of making a drastic decision."
He also said, "While the leadership may be in a position to push and pull, the members of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee adhere to the basic principle of promptly and strongly submitting and reviewing related bills."
The Legislation and Judiciary Committee's subcommittee submitted a bill proposed by Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Yong-min on the 23rd to change the recommendation authority of the HCIA chief candidate recommendation committee from "two members each from the ruling and opposition negotiation groups" to "four members from the National Assembly." This bill emerged because the People Power Party has continued to withhold recommendations, but the People Power Party strongly opposes it, calling it a surprise submission that was not scheduled. The bills to be additionally submitted were proposed by Park and Baek Hye-ryeon, the ruling party's floor whip in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. The common content is that if the opposition negotiation group does not make a recommendation within the designated period, the president of the Korean Association of Law Professors and the chairman of the Council of Law Schools will be appointed. Since this is much more direct than Kim's bill, which requires further consultation, the confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties may intensify.
Park said, "The People Power Party talks as if they will make recommendations, but it is not easy to trust them," adding, "I suspect that they are employing a strategy to frame the ruling party as unilaterally controlling the National Assembly's operations."
The bills promoted by the Democratic Party assume that the opposition negotiation group, i.e., the People Power Party, will not make recommendations. They do not remove the veto power but set alternatives if it is not exercised. Therefore, if the People Power Party makes recommendations during the bill review process, the amendment may become unnecessary.
Under the current HCIA Act, the HCIA chief candidate recommendation committee consists of seven members: the Minister of Justice, the Chief of the Court Administration, the President of the Korean Bar Association, two members recommended by the ruling party, and two members from the opposition negotiation group. Among them, six must agree to recommend a chief candidate to the president. The legal deadline for the HCIA launch was July 15, but it has been delayed because the People Power Party has not appointed recommendation members.
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