Ruling and Opposition Parties to Hold Plenary Session on 30th... February Extraordinary Session from 2nd to 28th

Disputes Over Key Bills Including Safe Freight Rates and Grain Management Act, Differences in Supplementary Budget Positions

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] The ruling and opposition parties agreed on the schedule for the February extraordinary session of the National Assembly on the 25th. A plenary session for agenda processing is also scheduled to be held on the 30th.

On the day, Song Eon-seok, the senior deputy floor leader of the People Power Party, told reporters after a meeting of senior deputy floor leaders of both parties, "The 403rd National Assembly extraordinary session will be held for 27 days from February 2 to 28."

Senior Deputy Floor Leader Song explained, "The opening ceremony will be held on February 2, and immediately after the opening ceremony, a plenary session will be held to handle the request for attendance of the Prime Minister and State Council members (government members) for the negotiation group representatives' speeches and interpellation of the government."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The negotiation group representatives' speeches will be held at 10 a.m. on February 13 and 14 respectively, with the Democratic Party speaking on the 13th and the People Power Party on the 14th.

The plenary session for agenda processing will be held on February 24, and if necessary, an additional plenary session can be held at 2 p.m. on the 28th.

The interpellation of the government will proceed in the order of politics, diplomacy, unification, and security on the 6th of next month; economy on the 7th; and education, society, and culture on the 8th.

Regarding contentious bills such as the safety freight system and the Grain Management Act, which were not processed in the previous plenary session, Senior Deputy Floor Leader Song said, "Sunset laws and contentious bills are under review by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, but we have not decided on a processing policy nor reached an agreement," adding, "We will try our best to reach an agreement."

On the other hand, Jin Seong-jun, senior deputy floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, explained, "According to the National Assembly Act, if the Legislation and Judiciary Committee does not complete its review within 60 days, the standing committee can decide to refer the bill directly to the plenary session," and added, "While other sunset laws still have review periods left in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, the Grain Management Act does not require the committee's review to exceed 60 days, so it should be processed according to the National Assembly Act, which is the Democratic Party's position."

Differences in positions between the ruling and opposition parties also appeared regarding the supplementary budget (Chugyeong).

Senior Deputy Floor Leader Jin emphasized, "The heating cost issue, which became a topic during this Lunar New Year table, requires support measures for energy heating costs and price stabilization for ordinary citizens," and added, "For this, the Democratic Party's opinion is that a supplementary budget of around 30 trillion won is necessary, but since it is the government's matter, we urge the government to review it proactively."

However, Senior Deputy Floor Leader Song said, "It is up to the government to prepare the supplementary budget," and added, "It is contrary to the government's constitutional budgetary authority for political parties in the National Assembly to discuss the size or details of the supplementary budget beyond just saying whether to have one or not, so this part should be approached cautiously."

He continued, "Especially since this year's budget has not even been in effect for a month, and how it will be executed has not been finalized, we need to approach this carefully," and pointed out, "Providing support immediately through the budget risks operating finances in a populist manner again, which is a concern."

He said, "The reality is that this year's tax revenue is unlikely to generate surplus tax revenue as comfortably as in the past," and emphasized, "We will discuss whether we can agree on contentious bills and the Democratic Party's supplementary budget issue. For now, we will process uncontested bills in the January and February extraordinary session plenary sessions to help people's livelihoods."