[One Month Since the 22nd National Assembly Convened] ③ 1,144 Bills Proposed... Marred by Excessive, Political, and Populist Legislation

Proposal of National Assembly Act and Others as Products of Ruling and Opposition Party Conflicts
Record High with 50 More Cases than the 21st National Assembly
Many Tax Cut Legislations Without Considering Tax Revenue

The 22nd National Assembly proposed a record-breaking 1,144 bills during its first month in session. According to the Legislative Information System on the 2nd, out of a total of 1,208 bills proposed from the opening of the 22nd National Assembly on May 30th until the 28th of last month, 1,144 were member-initiated bills. This is 50 more bills than the number proposed during the same period in the 21st National Assembly, which previously held the record.

The 300 members of the 22nd National Assembly proposed an average of 3.81 bills each over the past month, and 30 members, accounting for 10% of the total, proposed more than 10 bills. Han Jeong-ae of the Democratic Party of Korea, who proposed 31 bills including three amendments to the National Pension Act and three amendments to the Employment Insurance Act, submitted the most bills.

Next were Kim Seon-kyo of the People Power Party, who submitted 29 bills including three amendments to the Act on Honorable Treatment of Persons of Distinguished Service to the State, three amendments to the Act on Veterans, and two amendments to the Act on Independence Patriots, and Min Hyung-bae of the Democratic Party, who proposed bills such as amendments to the National Assembly Act, amendments to the Act on Regulation of Similar Receipt, and the Basic Act on Artificial Intelligence Technology. The 4th and 5th highest numbers of bills proposed were also held by Democratic Party members Han Byung-do (25 bills) and Lee Byung-jin (21 bills).

Ruling and Opposition Parties Focus on Low Birthrate Measures... Excessive Legislative Competition with 'Much the Same' Bills

The most frequently proposed bills in the 22nd National Assembly were related to low birthrate measures, initiated as party bills by the People Power Party and the Democratic Party of Korea. The People Power Party, with 108 members participating, proposed the 'Low Birthrate Response Package of Four Acts' on the 20th, including amendments to the Employment Insurance Act, Labor Standards Act, and Childcare Support Act as their first party bill. Prior to this, the Democratic Party also proposed the 'Birth Basic Income Package of Three Acts' on the 17th, amending the Child Welfare Act, Restriction of Special Taxation Act, and Child Allowance Act as a party bill. This reflects the situation where South Korea's total fertility rate last year was only 0.72, prompting demands for stronger direct childbirth promotion policies, expansion of paid leave days for childcare, and adjustment of working hours.

However, there are criticisms that the parties are engaging in excessive legislative competition by proposing very similar bills as representatives to build up their legislative achievements, even adopting these as party bills. For example, the 'Partial Amendment to the Act on Gender Equality in Employment and Work-Family Balance Support,' which was the most proposed bill with a total of 30 proposals in the first month of the 22nd National Assembly, generally includes similar content such as expansion of maternity and parental leave and adjustment of working hours, but was proposed as a representative bill by 11 members of the People Power Party and 10 members of the Democratic Party. Moreover, individual members submitted multiple amendments sequentially, each proposing changes to different parts of the same law over time. The Democratic Party's Han Jeong-ae proposed 4 bills, and So Byung-hoon and Han Byung-do each proposed 2 bills. The People Power Party's Song Eon-seok, Im I-ja, and Jo Jeong-hoon each proposed 2 bills as representatives.

Heated Legislative Conflicts Continue with National Assembly Act Amendments and Impeachment Proposals

The trend of 'legislating political conflicts' continued from the 21st National Assembly. Especially last month, when the ruling and opposition parties failed to organize the National Assembly and the opposition unilaterally formed standing committees, 25 amendments to the National Assembly Act were submitted. The Democratic Party proposed an amendment (led by Park Hong-geun) allowing the ruling party to select standing committees first. They also proposed an amendment (led by Cheon Jun-ho) to restrict the exercise of legislative power through presidential decrees. The People Power Party submitted a bill (led by Shin Dong-wook) to separate the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and assign its chairmanship to the party that did not produce the Speaker of the National Assembly, after the Democratic Party monopolized the Speaker and the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee.

Special prosecutor bills such as the Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor Act (led by Park Chan-dae, Democratic Party floor leader) and the Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Act (led by Lee Seong-yoon, Democratic Party member) were also proposed, along with the Han Dong-hoon Special Prosecutor Act. The two special prosecutor bills passed the plenary session under opposition leadership in the 21st National Assembly but were discarded after President Yoon exercised his veto power. The Innovation Party submitted the Han Dong-hoon Special Prosecutor Act as their first party bill immediately after the National Assembly opened on May 30th. This targeted Han Dong-hoon, a leading presidential candidate of the People Power Party, amid allegations including the 'prosecution report scandal,' intentional loss in the disciplinary lawsuit against former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, and ghostwriting of his child's thesis. Additionally, bills to activate permanent special prosecutors (led by Ju Cheol-hyun, Democratic Party member) and an impeachment proposal against Kim Hong-il, Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission (proposed by Kim Hyun and 187 others), were also submitted.

Despite Expected Revenue Shortfalls for Two Consecutive Years, Tax Cut Legislation Ranks High

It appears difficult to avoid criticism that bills benefiting local constituencies and populist tax cut bills have been excessively proposed. Following last year's record revenue shortfall of about 56 trillion won, this year is also expected to see a tax revenue deficit estimated between 10 to 20 trillion won. Amid this, bills related to tax reductions such as amendments to the Restriction of Special Taxation Act (RSTA), Income Tax Act, and Local Tax Special Cases Act (LTSCA) ranked high in the number of proposals. The RSTA ranked 2nd with 28 bills, while the Income Tax Act and LTSCA ranked 4th and 5th with 22 and 19 bills respectively.

Many bills proposing tax relief policies related to living expenses were proposed, including an amendment to the Income Tax Act (led by Jo Seung-rae, Democratic Party member) to include mobile phone charges as a tax credit item, an amendment to the RSTA (led by Yoo Dong-su, Democratic Party member) granting income tax deductions for communication expenses within the 1 million won annual credit card income deduction limit during year-end tax settlement of earned income, and an amendment to the Income Tax Act (by Park Seong-jun, Democratic Party member) to raise the deduction limit for academy fees. The People Power Party, with about 30 members, submitted bills related to their local constituency issues, starting early in the session to secure their base. For example, Kang Dae-sik, representing Daegu Dong-gu, proposed the 'Special Act for the Construction of Daegu-Gyeongbuk Integrated New Airport' as his first bill, and Kim Jong-yang of Changwon City, Gyeongnam, proposed the 'Act for the Rapid Promotion of Changwon Defense and Nuclear National Industrial Complex.' Members Park Dae-chul, Kang Min-guk, and Seo Cheon-ho, whose constituencies include Jinju City near Sacheon City, the location of the Aerospace Administration, submitted bills related to the aerospace complex city. Lee Cheol-gyu of the People Power Party, representing Gangwon Donghae, Taebaek, Samcheok, and Jeongseon, proposed the Special Act on Development of Mining Areas and amendments to the RSTA to establish duty-free shops in mining areas and exempt value-added tax, individual consumption tax, and liquor tax. Moon Geum-ju of the Democratic Party, representing Goheung, Boseong, Jangheung, and Gangjin in Jeonnam, and Jeong Jeom-sik of the People Power Party, representing Tongyeong and Goseong in Gyeongnam, each proposed the RSTA as a subsidiary bill to the Special Act on Development of the Southern Coastal Region.

Regarding the LTSCA, multiple bills with similar content applicable to rural areas were proposed. Representative examples include extending the sunset clause for the system that reduces acquisition tax by 50% on farmland acquired by returning farmers and extending the sunset clause for the system exempting property tax on farmland provided as collateral by farmers to receive retirement living stabilization funds. Both systems are scheduled to expire at the end of this year.

Professor Kim Woo-cheol of the University of Seoul stated, "It is positive that the legislature is engaging in good-faith competition to develop good policies," but added, "It is necessary to systematically organize the indiscriminate and excessive proposal of bills without prior consultation or coordination." He further noted, "If sufficient review, fiscal and cost analysis, and finalization of the bills are conducted, the National Assembly will be able to lead the government more effectively."