"Forming a Large Delegation to the US to Discuss the IRA Act and Others"
"Election Law Revision to Be Completed by the End of March"
[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Speaker of the National Assembly Kim Jin-pyo stated on the 2nd, "We will expedite the establishment of the Korea-US Parliamentary Alliance." He also emphasized completing the electoral district delineation by the end of March this year.
In his opening remarks at the February extraordinary session, Speaker Kim said, "We must focus our diplomatic efforts on the United States, China, and Japan, which are close to us," adding, "Alongside official government diplomacy, we will also dramatically strengthen parliamentary diplomacy this year."
He explained, "Parliamentary diplomacy has the special advantage of being able to be broadly pursued through official, semi-official, and unofficial channels by mobilizing various personal networks," and stated, "As Speaker of the National Assembly, I plan to immediately begin the work of newly forming the ‘Korea-US Parliamentary Alliance’ for this purpose."
Speaker Kim noted, "There are already quite a few pro-Korea lawmakers in the US Congress, such as the Korea Caucus Group and the Korea Study Group," and added, "If we collaborate with lawmakers from key regions where our companies have investments, such as California, Georgia, Texas, and Michigan, we can form an influential Korea-US Parliamentary Alliance."
He also expressed his intention to organize a large delegation of lawmakers visiting the US.
Speaker Kim said, "We will form a large-scale ‘delegation of lawmakers visiting the US’ as soon as possible and visit the United States," adding, "During the visit, we will meet with lawmakers from both the House and Senate to finalize the establishment of the parliamentary alliance." He continued, "We will also work hard to attract domestic investment in advanced strategic industries in response to global supply chain adjustments," and said, "We will put our heads together to find win-win solutions on economic issues between Korea and the US, including the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)."
Regarding the 70th anniversary of the Korea-US alliance, he requested, "Before the visit to the US, I ask that our National Assembly adopt a bipartisan resolution at the February extraordinary session."
Regarding the ongoing discussions on the revision of the election law, Speaker Kim stated, "The deadline for this election law revision must be met under any circumstances," and urged, "To comply with the legal deadline for electoral district delineation, let us complete the election law revision by the end of March no matter what."
Furthermore, he reaffirmed his intention that if the Special Committee on Political Reform in the National Assembly prepares multiple revision bills by the end of February, a plenary committee meeting will be convened in the March session for intensive deliberation to finalize the election law revision bill. Speaker Kim said, "If we go through this intensive deliberation process and secure the consent of more than 200 lawmakers, we can sufficiently complete the election law revision within March."
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