Constitutional Court Election Law Amendment Not Passed by National Assembly Within Legislative Deadline
Opposition: "Proposal to Pass Uncontested Issues Also Ignored by Ruling Party"
Ruling Party: "Could Not Conclude Due to Differences Among Members... No Reckless Election Campaigning Expected"
As the revision of the Public Official Election Act, which received a constitutional incompatibility ruling from the Constitutional Court, was delayed, a 'legislative gap' occurred from the 1st, leading to a blame game between the ruling and opposition parties. The opposition party demanded an apology from the chairman of the National Assembly's Judiciary Committee, where the Public Official Election Act was pending, while the ruling party countered that the bill was not processed due to significant differences in opinions among the Judiciary Committee members.
Last July, the Constitutional Court ruled certain provisions of the Public Official Election Act unconstitutional or incompatible with the Constitution, including the prohibition of promotional items such as sashes worn by candidates or related persons by the general public, the ban on distributing promotional materials from 180 days before the election day, and the prohibition of gatherings or meetings such as hometown associations during the election period, setting a legislative deadline until the end of last month.
In response, the National Assembly's Special Committee on Political Reform approved the related amendment to the Public Official Election Act on the 13th and forwarded it to the Judiciary Committee. The Judiciary Committee began systematic and textual review of the amendment on the 17th and 27th of last month but failed to complete the review due to disagreements among members. As a result, the revision of the law before the legislative deadline was canceled, leading to a legislative gap.
Opposition: "Legislative Gap in Election Law, Responsibility Lies with Ruling Party and Chairman Kim Do-eup"
The Democratic Party claimed, "The legislative gap in the Public Official Election Act is entirely the responsibility of the People Power Party and its Judiciary Committee Chairman Kim Do-eup."
Democratic Party members of the Special Committee on Political Reform and Judiciary Committee held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office, stating, "We cannot help but condemn the shamelessness of the People Power Party, which tries to blur the essence as if both ruling and opposition parties are responsible," and added, "Chairman Kim is manipulating even the election, the foundation of democracy, according to his political logic, despite the fact that the legal gap could have been prevented, avoiding the obvious confusion and inconvenience to the public."
They explained, "In the National Assembly, the Special Committee on Political Reform, the competent standing committee, prepared a consensus bill after about two months of deliberation on a total of 23 bills to amend the Public Official Election Act," adding, "It is practically a bipartisan agreement. The Special Committee on Political Reform cannot pass the election law without reporting to and approval from the party and floor leadership."
Democratic Party lawmakers claimed, "Chairman Kim not only delayed discussions in the Judiciary Committee three times (on the 17th, 26th, and 27th) but also abandoned his duties as chairman by leaving for lunch during the recess time while Democratic Party members were waiting at the last meeting before the plenary session on the 27th, leaving the Democratic Judiciary Committee members bewildered." They also introduced that "even the Democratic Party's earnest proposal to pass parts without disagreement between the ruling and opposition parties was ignored."
Democratic Party lawmakers demanded, "It is now time to take responsibility," and urged, "Honestly admit that the People Power Party is entirely responsible for this grave situation of holding elections amid a legislative gap in the Public Official Election Act, and apologize to the public." They also demanded the amendment of the Public Official Election Act within this month and the cessation of Chairman Kim's arbitrary actions.
Ruling Party: "Could Not Process Due to Differences During Systematic and Textual Review... Opposition Should Not Shift Responsibility"
People Power Party Judiciary Committee members rebutted the Democratic Party's false claims.
In a separate press conference on the same day, People Power Party Judiciary Committee members said, "We apologize and feel sorry for causing concern to the public for failing to process some provisions of the Public Official Election Act, which the Constitutional Court ruled unconstitutional, within the amendment deadline," but added, "It is necessary to clarify whether the responsibility for the failure to process the amendment lies with Chairman Kim and the People Power Party as the Democratic Party claims."
They explained, "There were issues raised regarding the ambiguity of standards and the consistency of the legal system concerning the regulation limiting the number of people in prohibited gatherings or meetings to 30 to prevent election influence, and intense discussions took place among committee members about whether it aligned with the Constitutional Court's decision. Ultimately, the differences could not be reconciled, and the review was concluded without resolution."
They continued, "Both ruling and opposition parties made maximum efforts to meet the amendment deadline, but due to the exposure of various members' differing opinions during the Judiciary Committee's inherent systematic and textual review process, the bill review could not be arbitrarily concluded."
Regarding claims that Chairman Kim left his seat during the Judiciary Committee recess, they responded, "Some Democratic Party members reported going to have a meal, and the chairman moved to the assembly hall accordingly. The Democratic Party's claims that he left his seat during recess or intentionally adjourned the meeting because negotiations were not completed before the plenary session are tactics and tricks to shift responsibility."
People Power Party Judiciary Committee members explained about the legislative gap, "Although the amendment to the Public Official Election Act was not processed, even if the relevant provisions become ineffective, other regulatory provisions remain, so indiscriminate election campaigning is unlikely to occur." A related People Power Party official explained, "Although some provisions of the Public Official Election Act have become ineffective, there are still provisions restricting pre-election campaigning, regulations on banners, and limits on election expenses, so it is impossible to put up unlimited banners."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
