Presidential Office "Welcomes Ruling and Opposition's Agreement on Itaewon Special Act... First Outcome of Yoon-Lee Summit"

Ruling and Opposition Parties Agree on Itaewon Special Act Amendment
Presidential Office: "Start of Bipartisan Cooperation and Political Restoration"

Kim Soo-kyung, spokesperson for the Presidential Office, is briefing on the ruling and opposition parties' agreement to amend the Itaewon Disaster Special Act at the Presidential Office building in Yongsan, Seoul, on the 1st.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Presidential Office welcomed the ruling and opposition parties' agreement to pass the 'Itaewon Disaster Truth Investigation Special Act (Itaewon Special Act)' in the plenary session, calling it the first achievement of the summit meeting held on the 29th, the office announced on the 1st.

Kim Su-kyung, spokesperson for the Presidential Office, held a briefing at the Yongsan Presidential Office in the afternoon and said, "We welcome today's agreement between the ruling and opposition parties on the Itaewon Special Act," adding, "The summit between President Yoon Seok-yeol and Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, on the 29th marked the beginning of cooperation and political restoration between the parties, and this agreement is the first concrete result of that."

Spokesperson Kim added, "We hope that the ruling and opposition parties will continue to communicate based on trust to reach agreements and maintain cooperation on the numerous pressing national issues ahead."

Earlier, Lee Yang-su, senior deputy floor leader of the People Power Party, and Park Ju-min, senior deputy floor leader of the Democratic Party, held a press conference at the National Assembly and announced that the ruling and opposition parties had agreed on key matters such as the composition, activity period, and investigation methods of the Special Investigation Committee (Special Committee) specified in the Itaewon Special Act.

The Democratic Party agreed to delete the Special Committee's authority for ex officio investigations and the right to request search warrants, which the People Power Party had previously criticized as toxic provisions.

Additionally, the People Power Party dropped its stance that the Special Committee's activity period should be limited to a maximum of nine months and accepted the Democratic Party's original demand that it be within one year, with the possibility of extension within three months.

The composition of the Special Committee was revised so that the chairperson is decided through consultation between the ruling and opposition parties, and each party recommends four members, making a total of nine members. The change from 'agreement' to 'consultation' regarding the chairperson's appointment, which is the National Assembly Speaker's recommendation, is interpreted as a concession by the People Power Party.

The Itaewon Special Act aims to form a Special Committee to reinvestigate the Itaewon disaster that occurred on October 29, 2022. Although the opposition party passed the act unilaterally in the National Assembly in January, it was returned for reconsideration due to President Yoon Seok-yeol's veto (request for reconsideration), and was awaiting a re-vote in the National Assembly.

The ruling and opposition parties plan to hold a plenary session on the 2nd to pass the Itaewon Special Act with the key issues amended.