'Nurse Treatment Improvement' Nursing Act... Opposition Party Leads Submission to Plenary Session

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Nursing Act bill, aimed at improving the treatment of nurses, was submitted to the National Assembly plenary session on the 23rd, led by the opposition party. This means that the Nursing Act bill is now in a state where it can be deliberated on in the plenary session.

On the afternoon of the same day, the motion to submit the Nursing Act bill to the plenary session was passed with 166 votes in favor, 94 against, 1 abstention, and 1 invalid vote out of a total of 262 votes.

The Nursing Act bill separates nursing-related content from the current Medical Service Act, clarifies the duties of nurses, specialized nurses, and nursing assistants, and includes the state's responsibility to improve the working environment and treatment of nurses as its main content.

A revision to the Medical Service Act, which strengthens the qualifications for medical personnel by stipulating that a prison sentence for any crime is grounds for disqualification and license revocation, was also submitted together.

Other bills submitted and passed include amendments to the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act to allow workers who have received vaccinations to take paid leave, amendments to the National Health Insurance Act to mandate verification of identity and eligibility for long-term care benefit subscribers, and amendments to the Elderly Welfare Act and the Disabled Welfare Act to establish guidelines for reporting abuse of the elderly and disabled.

Previously, the 'motion to submit to the plenary session' for these bills was passed on the 9th of last month in the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee, led by the opposition party.

In a dissenting debate, Lee Jong-seong, a member of the People Power Party and part of the Health and Welfare Committee, stated, "The bills directly submitted today are ones where a compromise can be found through bipartisan agreement if sufficient discussion is held," adding, "Using the tactic of direct submission at a time when discussions have been ongoing and further discussions are pending is a serious procedural flaw."