[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] On the 9th, the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee held a plenary meeting and directly referred seven bills, including the Nursing Act bill concerning the improvement of nurses' treatment and scope of work, to the National Assembly plenary session.
The motion to submit the Nursing Act to the plenary session was approved with 16 votes in favor, 7 against, and 1 invalid out of 24 committee members. The remaining six bills, including the Medical Service Act amendment, Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act amendment, and National Health Insurance Act amendment, were passed to the plenary session with 17 votes in favor, 6 against, and 1 invalid.
According to the National Assembly Act, if a bill is not reviewed by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee within 60 days, the chairperson of the relevant standing committee may submit it to the plenary session in consultation with the secretary. If no agreement is reached, it can be submitted to the plenary session with the approval of at least three-fifths of the total committee members.
Among the 24 members of the Health and Welfare Committee, 14 belong to the Democratic Party of Korea, 9 to the People Power Party, and 1 to the Justice Party. The direct referral vote is interpreted to have included at least one or two dissenting votes from the People Power Party.
The Nursing Act bill was passed by the Health and Welfare Committee last May under opposition party leadership and referred to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee.
The Korean Nurses Association, a nurses' organization, has long demanded the prompt passage of the Nursing Act bill, which includes provisions for improving nurses' treatment and scope of work, while other health care organizations have argued that the bill grants special privileges to a specific profession.
The Medical Service Act amendment includes provisions such as revoking licenses if medical personnel receive imprisonment without prison labor or heavier sentences and strengthening qualification requirements for medical personnel.
The Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act amendment mandates the Director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency to promote infectious disease research and development projects, and the National Health Insurance Act amendment mainly establishes grounds for recovering payments from fraudulent claimants by requiring medical institutions to verify the identity of patients.
During the meeting, a confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties occurred during the vote for direct referral.
Kang Ki-yoon, a secretary from the ruling People Power Party, opposed the direct referral, mentioning that pending bills would be handled at the Legislation and Judiciary Committee's Bill Subcommittee 2 on the 22nd of this month. Kang Hoon-sik, a secretary from the opposition Democratic Party, countered that Bill Subcommittee 2 is a graveyard for bills and that they can no longer wait.
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