Nowungrae "Conflict of Interest Prevention Act 'Excluding National Assembly Members' May Cause Misunderstanding"

No Woong-rae, Member of the Democratic Party of Korea Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Tae-min] On the 15th, Roh Woong-rae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, pointed out that the "Conflict of Interest Prevention Act" could be perceived as allowing members of the National Assembly to be excluded from its scope.

Roh, a four-term senior lawmaker, wrote on his Facebook on the same day, "Although this law explicitly includes members of the National Assembly as subjects of application, the exception clauses related to the enactment and revision of laws may be misunderstood as excluding members of the National Assembly from the law's application."

The bill, which passed the Legislation and Judiciary Committee on the 14th, includes members of the National Assembly as subjects of the law’s application, but the specific sanctions are to be included in the amendment to the National Assembly Act currently pending in the National Assembly Steering Committee.

Regarding this, Roh said, "If local council members and heads of local governments also demand the same exception clauses, on what grounds will you discriminate?" and urged, "Let's delete the clauses that could cause misunderstandings to completely dispel suspicions."

Kim Byung-wook, the ruling party secretary of the Political Affairs Committee, refuted through Facebook, "(The claim that members of the National Assembly could effectively be excluded) is completely untrue." In response to some criticisms that the National Assembly Act is being used to loosen punishments for lawmakers, Kim explained, "Conflicts of interest that may arise in specific committee-related legislative activities will be specifically regulated in the National Assembly Act," emphasizing that this decision considers the unique nature of parliamentary work.

He reiterated, "The provisions of this law (the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act), including the declaration of private interests, prohibition of private contracts, prohibition of family employment, and penalties for violations, fundamentally apply to members of the National Assembly as well."