Yoon Approves Reconsideration Request for '250,000 Won Law' and 'Yellow Envelope Law'... "Reality Is Regrettable" (Comprehensive)

"Promoting Customized Welfare, Not Populist Welfare"
Presidential Office: "Opposition Party Passed 5 Bills Unilaterally"

Jeong Hye-jeon, spokesperson for the Presidential Office, is holding a briefing on current issues at the Presidential Office building in Yongsan, Seoul on the 16th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 16th, the Presidential Office voiced criticism against the ruling party and opposition parties, including the Democratic Party of Korea, for forcibly passing bills that had been discarded after re-voting.

President Yoon Suk-yeol approved the request for reconsideration on the same day regarding the '25,000 KRW Support Law for All Citizens' (Special Measures Act on the Payment of Livelihood Recovery Support Funds) and the 'Yellow Envelope Act' (Amendment to the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act). The Presidential Office expressed regret over the repeated necessity to exercise the right to request reconsideration on bills with potential unconstitutionality or illegality.

Jung Hye-jeon, spokesperson for the Presidential Office, stated at a briefing at the Yongsan Presidential Office, "It is deplorable that we are forced to exercise the right to request reconsideration again due to the opposition's unilateral forced passage of bills without social consensus."

Spokesperson Jung emphasized, "There are five bills that the opposition forcibly passed again after re-voting on bills that had been discarded. It is the duty and responsibility of the president, as the guardian of the constitution, to exercise the right to request reconsideration on bills with potential unconstitutionality or illegality."

She particularly pointed out, "I want to ask what the intention is behind the continuous forced passage of unconstitutional, illegal, and socially unconsented bills, leaving aside livelihood bills that should be prioritized." She explained that the public hopes the National Assembly will focus on processing livelihood bills that have undergone bipartisan agreement and social consensus.

The opposition parties, including the Democratic Party of Korea, unilaterally passed the 25,000 KRW Support Law and the Yellow Envelope Act on the 2nd and 5th, respectively. This is the 10th time President Yoon has requested reconsideration for bills passed without bipartisan agreement, and the total number of bills is 21.

"This is the 10th time reconsideration has been requested for bills passed without agreement"

Spokesperson Jung said, "The Special Act on the Payment of Livelihood Recovery Support Funds requires issuing large-scale government bonds to secure 13 trillion KRW in resources, and there is a majority opinion that it has a high possibility of unconstitutionality as it violates the constitutional provision that budget allocation authority belongs to the executive branch."

She continued, "The Yoon Suk-yeol administration will continue to promote tailored welfare necessary for socially vulnerable groups, rather than populist welfare that indiscriminately distributes cash or unsustainable one-time cash payments."

Regarding the amendment to the Trade Union Act, Spokesperson Jung explained, "It is a bill unilaterally passed by the opposition without consultation between the ruling and opposition parties and labor and management parties, adding toxic clauses to a bill that was already discarded in the 21st National Assembly."

She added, "It forcibly expands the scope of negotiation counterparts and strike targets and sets excessive exceptions to the principle of compensation for damages, effectively exempting damages caused by illegal strikes, making it a worse bill than the one already discarded."

She also said, "It is feared that the so-called illegal strike promotion law will directly lead to contraction of the employment market and collapse of the industrial ecosystem," and added, "The Yoon Suk-yeol administration will eradicate illegality and violence in the labor field and achieve genuine labor reform by establishing a just and fair compensation system for workers."

Jeong Hye-jeon, spokesperson for the Presidential Office, is holding a briefing on current issues at the Presidential Office building in Yongsan, Seoul, on the 16th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

"Contract signed to supply treatment for 260,000 amid COVID-19 spread"

Regarding the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, the Presidential Office announced on the 16th that "a purchase contract is being signed to supply treatment for 260,000 people."

A Presidential Office official told reporters in the afternoon, "We are currently actively responding to the resurgence of COVID-19."

The official explained, "The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency has prepared and announced public preventive guidelines, including recommendations for mask-wearing, and emergency reserve funds have been secured to meet the increased demand for treatments."

He added, "Since yesterday, additional supplies of oral and injectable treatments have begun, and we plan to expand the volume of imported treatments sequentially and urgently, negotiating detailed schedules with pharmaceutical companies."

Regarding the MPOX (formerly known as monkeypox), for which the World Health Organization (WHO) recently declared a public health emergency, the government plans to hold an emergency risk assessment meeting in preparation for possible domestic entry.

The Presidential Office official said, "Considering the possibility of domestic entry, an emergency risk assessment meeting is scheduled for today. We will monitor the global outbreak status and intensively inspect domestic diagnostic and quarantine management systems." The official added, "Currently, there are no unusual signs domestically, and there have been no domestic deaths so far."