Legislative 'Gateway' Chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee Also from the Democratic Party
Democrats Speed Up... "Afraid of Being Held Back by the Ruling Party"
People Power Boycotts... "Opposition Lacks Minimum Checks"
Following the appointment of the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Democratic Party of Korea has also secured the position of Chairperson of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, which serves as the 'final gatekeeper' of legislation. This increases the likelihood that major contentious bills pushed by the 'Geoya (巨野)' coalition, such as the Special Prosecutor Act for Chae Sang-byeong and the Broadcasting Three Acts, will be swiftly processed without any braking mechanisms. The Democratic Party plans to emphasize 'speed' by quickly passing key bills like the Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor Act through each standing committee to create a more efficient National Assembly.
On the 5th, when the first plenary session of the 22nd National Assembly was held, members of the National Assembly were entering the plenary hall. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@
On the afternoon of the 12th, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold its first plenary meeting of the 22nd National Assembly, where it will appoint a floor leader and place the Special Prosecutor Act for Marine Corps personnel on the agenda. Kim Seung-won, a Democratic Party lawmaker nominated as the opposition floor leader for the committee, stated in a morning interview on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' that “over 1,600 bills were discarded due to expiration of their terms last year in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee,” and pointed out, “As far as I know, bills passed by other standing committees should proceed to the plenary session, but about 400 to 500 bills were discarded in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee.”
He added, “Each bill that reaches the Legislation and Judiciary Committee represents tremendous effort from the citizens involved, to the point of tears,” and said, “We need to open the National Assembly quickly to re-discuss and pass the bills discarded at the end of the term in the 22nd National Assembly so that those affected can breathe a little easier.”
Regarding why a Democratic Party lawmaker should chair the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, he explained, “In the latter half of the 21st National Assembly, when the chairpersonship was given to the People Power Party, many bills failed to reach the plenary session and were discarded,” and expressed concern that “if the People Power Party takes the chair again in the first half of the 22nd National Assembly, similar obstruction tactics will likely continue.”
He further stated, “Secondly, we need to secure special prosecutor acts for Mrs. Kim Geon-hee or for the Chae Haebyeong case, where President Yoon Seok-yeol’s interference in investigations is continuously being revealed,” and accused, “The People Power Party is shielding the presidential office.”
Kim Yong-min, the Democratic Party’s Deputy Floor Policy Chief and a member of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, appeared on SBS Radio’s ‘Kim Tae-hyun’s Political Show’ the same morning and said that the committee’s first priority would be “the Chae Haebyeong Special Prosecutor Act, which is the Democratic Party’s number one party bill, and it seems it will be discussed most swiftly.”
He added, “Although discussions have not yet extended to which bills to focus on after the Chae Haebyeong Special Prosecutor Act, we also consider the special prosecutor act for Mrs. Kim Geon-hee an important bill,” and said, “We have stated our intention to reintroduce and push forward bills that were previously vetoed, so we plan to handle these swiftly as well.”
Regarding the proposal from the People Power Party to concede only the Legislation and Judiciary Committee to them while giving up the Operations Committee and the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, he criticized, “That is a plan to paralyze the National Assembly by taking control of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee,” and said, “The Democratic Party cannot accept such a proposal.” He also pointed out, “During the 21st National Assembly, after the People Power Party took the chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, bill passage was significantly delayed,” and noted, “The number of meetings held by the committee noticeably decreased compared to when we held the chair.”
Meanwhile, the People Power Party, boycotting standing committees in protest of the Democratic Party’s unilateral control of the National Assembly, is likely to skip the Legislation and Judiciary Committee’s plenary meeting that day. Gwak Gyu-taek, a People Power Party lawmaker, said on YTN Radio’s ‘News Fighting’ that “it is the first time in constitutional history that the opposition has monopolized key standing committees such as the Operations and Legislation and Judiciary Committees after securing the Speaker’s position,” and added, “Traditionally, when the ruling party holds the Speaker’s position, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee chair is given to the minority party.”
He criticized, “This is to ensure at least some checks and balances in the bill submission process,” and said, “Having the Speaker and the Legislation and Judiciary Committee chair from the same party means there are no checks and balances in bill processing.”
He further stated, “The purpose of having checks and balances is to review bills more carefully and to encourage sufficient dialogue between the ruling and opposition parties if there are conflicts, but ignoring this and having the Speaker and Legislation and Judiciary Committee chair both from the Democratic Party means they want to legislate at will,” and criticized, “It is tantamount to declaring that even minimal checks and balances are unnecessary.”
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