Park Hong-geun "Will Make Every Effort to Pass Livelihood Legislation... Will Gather Consensus at Workshop on the 30th"

Ruling Party Check, Emphasis on Driving Livelihood Bills

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] The Democratic Party of Korea has expressed its determination to focus all efforts on passing bills related to livelihood issues ahead of the plenary session.

Park Hong-geun, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, stated at the party members' meeting held at the National Assembly on the 2nd, "We will make every effort to ensure thorough livelihood legislation so that the Democratic Party can be reborn as a competent party for the people's livelihood."

He said, "The bills on reducing the oil tax and supporting meal expenses for office workers, which were raised by the Special Committee on the Livelihood Economy, will be passed in the plenary session shortly," adding, "Despite the parliamentary deadlock, it is fortunate that the Livelihood Priority Implementation Team listened to voices from the field and various sectors and achieved results."

He also stated, "We will promptly accelerate the handling of other urgent economic livelihood legislative issues such as the delivery price linkage system, the abolition of the sunset clause on the safe freight system, and the temporary refund of public transportation fees, on which the ruling party has not clearly stated its position."

Floor leader Park explained, "We will hold a workshop on the 30th and 31st to prepare for the second half of the regular session. As always, I want the members to discuss and select bills related to livelihood issues by expressing their desire to create and pass at least one bill they have been preparing, and then unite during the regular session to fully commit to passing those bills."

He continued, "Furthermore, as promised when I was elected floor leader at the members' meeting, I want to implement a system where each member takes responsibility for one livelihood-related professional organization, understands the actual legislative issues, and acts as a 'guardian in the National Assembly' to ensure these are reflected in government policies."

He said, "While checking the Yoon administration's failures as they are, the Democratic Party must earn the public's trust by standing tall as a party centered on the people's livelihood and prioritizing it above all. I hope we approach the plenary session with a commitment to closely communicate with the field and promptly address livelihood issues without delay."