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The 'Chairperson of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee' is one of the standing committees of the National Assembly, commonly referred to as the 'Legislation and Judiciary Committee Chairperson' or simply 'Law Committee Chairperson.'

The position of the Law Committee Chairperson is fiercely contested every time the National Assembly forms new standing committees. Since the National Assembly of Korea is not divided into upper and lower houses, the Law Committee effectively serves as the upper house. The Law Committee Chairperson holds such significant power that they are sometimes called the 'Speaker of the Upper House.'

Kim Do-eup, Chairman of the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee (center), Jeong Jeom-sik, ruling party secretary (left), and So Byeong-cheol, opposition party secretary, are conversing at the full meeting of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee held at the National Assembly on December 7 last year.
[Photo by Kim Hyun-min]

According to Article 86, Paragraph 1 of the National Assembly Act, all bills must undergo a systematic and technical review by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee before being submitted to the plenary session. The 'systematic review' examines whether the bill or its provisions are unconstitutional or conflict with related laws. The 'technical review' assesses compliance with spelling, accuracy, and clarity.

The typical legislative process in the National Assembly follows the order: proposal (submission) --> referral --> committee review --> Legislation and Judiciary Committee systematic and technical review --> plenary committee review --> plenary session deliberation and resolution --> transmission to the government --> promulgation (if the president exercises veto power, retransmission follows).

Usually, once a bill is submitted to the plenary session, most procedures are considered complete. Therefore, if the committee review is the intermediate gateway for a bill to become law, the Law Committee's systematic and technical review serves as the final gateway.

In particular, the Law Committee reviews not only bills under its jurisdiction but also bills from other standing committees. Because of this, the Law Committee Chairperson, who holds the authority to submit bills ex officio, sometimes enforces the will of themselves or their affiliated party. The Chairperson can ex officio submit specific bills to the Law Committee for systematic and technical review to benefit their party's interests.

In the 22nd National Assembly as well, the Law Committee has become the frontline between the ruling and opposition parties, handling not only systematic and technical review authority but also current issues that could become political flashpoints. Among the bills uniquely handled by the Law Committee are the Special Prosecutor Appointment Act (Special Prosecutor Act), the Criminal Procedure Act, and the Prosecutors' Office Act, which relate to prosecution.

During the second half of the 21st National Assembly, the Law Committee was controlled by the ruling People Power Party, making it difficult to process bills like the Special Prosecutor Act through fast-track procedures. However, if the opposition holds the Law Committee Chairperson position, the Special Prosecutor Act can frequently pass through the National Assembly. Moreover, when impeachment motions are passed, the Law Committee Chairperson plays a leading role akin to a prosecutor in the impeachment trial process.

With the Democratic Party of Korea winning 175 seats in the 22nd general election and aiming for both the Speaker of the National Assembly and the Legislation and Judiciary Committee Chairperson positions, negotiations for the 22nd National Assembly's organizational structure are expected to face difficulties.

In the first half of the 21st National Assembly, negotiations between the ruling and opposition parties failed over the Speaker and Law Committee Chairperson positions, resulting in the Democratic Party taking the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, and standing committee chair positions. However, in the second half of the 21st National Assembly, when Kim Do-eup of the People Power Party became Law Committee Chairperson, it was evaluated that various reform bills by the Democratic Party were blocked, which has led the Democratic Party to take a hard stance.

On the 15th, dark clouds heavily covered the sky above the National Assembly building.
[Photo by Kim Hyun-min]

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, also expressed during the general election campaign, "The president is abusing veto power, and the ruling party, despite being a minority, is abusing power by controlling the Law Committee," indicating his determination not to concede the Law Committee Chairperson position.

Ko Min-jung, a senior member of the Democratic Party, stated on June 16 on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' that "As the majority party, it is necessary to properly organize the legislative branch starting from the formation of standing committees. I hope we do not repeat past mistakes." She added, "What was the result of giving up the Law Committee? All bills were blocked, cooperation disappeared, and conflicts intensified," clearly indicating the party's refusal to yield the Law Committee Chairperson position to the ruling party.

Representative Kim Yong-min also wrote on his social media platform Facebook, "The Democratic Party should hold the Law Committee Chairperson position. Not because of the systematic and technical review, but because most major bills that check the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, such as the Special Prosecutor Act and prosecution reform laws, fall under the Law Committee's jurisdiction." He argued, "Securing the Law Committee Chairperson position is a litmus test that faithfully reflects the public sentiment from the general election."

Due to the excessive concentration of power in the Law Committee, there have been discussions about establishing a separate Legislation Committee responsible solely for systematic and technical review. Speaker Kim Jin-pyo also proposed an amendment to the National Assembly Act on the same day, which would require the Legislation Committee, a concurrent standing committee, to review systematic and technical matters within 30 days and then send them to the relevant standing committee.

However, despite the fierce competition for the Law Committee Chairperson position, the committee itself is unpopular among lawmakers. Popular standing committees in the National Assembly are those closely linked to constituency interests and voter support, such as the Industry and Trade Committee and the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee. The Law Committee consistently ranks near the bottom in popularity, usually second or third from last, because it involves a heavy workload and is demanding. Typically, first-term lawmakers with legal backgrounds are pushed out of power struggles or are placated with promises like "If you spend just two years in the Law Committee, you will be assigned to a better committee."