Justice Party urges new floor leader Park Kwang-on to pass "Empty Apartment Special Act"

"Election System Reform Must Also Be Completed"

On the 28th, the Justice Party urged Park Kwang-on, the newly elected floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, to pass the 'Empty Jeonse Special Act.'

On the same day, Lee Eun-joo, the floor leader of the Justice Party, stated on Facebook in the afternoon, "I ask Park Kwang-on, who emphasized party unity and the public's perspective, to responsibly manage the Democratic Party's turmoil and restore citizens' trust in Korean politics as a member of the legislature and a fellow politician."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Lee said, "The Empty Jeonse Special Act will be discussed today at the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee. Although the plenary session approval originally scheduled for yesterday (27th) was canceled, we must accelerate the agreement to prevent the victims' sacrifices and despair from deepening."

He added, "The Justice Party proposed to reach a comprehensive agreement at the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee early next week," emphasizing, "To do so, reaching an agreement on the legislative schedule for the May extraordinary session is urgent."

Lee also urged, "Even if the entire May schedule cannot be finalized, please expedite the agreement on the date for the first plenary session in May so that the Empty Jeonse Special Act can be immediately processed."

Along with this, he called for a responsible role from the new floor leader of the Democratic Party regarding 'electoral system reform.'

Lee stated, "Recently, discussions were halted after the full committee debate," adding, "Although a unified proposal was not reached through the full committee debate, all lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties agreed that political change in Korea is difficult without reforming the electoral system." He continued, "Recently, Speaker Kim Jin-pyo and the bipartisan political reform lawmakers' group proposed the formation of a basic subcommittee under the full committee," and requested, "I ask Park Kwang-on, the floor leader, to proactively accept the proposal to form the basic subcommittee and open the way for electoral system reform."

Ryu Ho-jeong, the Justice Party floor spokesperson, also said in a written briefing, "The top priority task for the new Democratic Party floor leadership is to promptly finalize measures against empty jeonse, including the special public purchase law for empty jeonse."

She added, "The ruling party must also pass the October 29 Itaewon disaster special law, which the opposition has pushed for, to uncover the full truth and punish those responsible," and requested, "As the main opposition party and the largest party in the legislature, the Democratic Party should take the lead and do its best."