National Assembly Passes 14 Bills by Bipartisan Agreement... 'Cooperation' Gains Momentum

Speeding up agreement on non-contentious bills for passage in August
Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee sends 4 bills; Industry Committee sends 10 bills to Judiciary Committee
Kim Sang-hoon "Expect to agree on about 10 bills"

Livelihood bills are being rapidly processed through bipartisan agreement in the National Assembly standing committees. As of this day, 14 bills have passed the standing committees. Additional bills will be discussed in four standing committees on the following day (23rd) and on the 26th. Bills that pass the standing committees will undergo the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and plenary session procedures before final enactment.

On the 22nd, the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee approved an amendment to the Special Act on Public Housing in a plenary meeting. The deadline for the Urban Public Housing Complex Project was extended from September 20 to December 31, 2026. The Special Act on Public Housing, introduced in 2021 as a 'three-year temporary' measure and nearing sunset, will be extended by 2 years and 3 months to continue the project. This reflects the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s opinion that additional housing supply is necessary. The bill passed that day was a compromise prepared after discussions involving bills individually proposed by Kim Jae-seop of the People Power Party and Kang Seon-woo, Kim Nam-geun, Kim Woo-young, Moon Jin-seok, Han Jeong-ae, and Han Min-su of the Democratic Party of Korea, as well as government opinions.

Maeng Seong-gyu, Chairman of the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, is striking the gavel at the plenary meeting of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee held at the National Assembly on the 21st. At the plenary meeting, the amendment to the Special Act on Jeonse Fraud, which was passed by the subcommittee with bipartisan agreement, was processed. / Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Earlier, the Land Committee passed amendments to the Special Act on Jeonse Fraud, the Taxi Business Act, and the early land compensation law for Gadeok New Airport. The amendment to the Special Act on Jeonse Fraud includes provisions for the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) to purchase houses affected by jeonse fraud at auction and provide them as long-term public rental housing to victims. The amendment to the Taxi Business Act postpones the nationwide expansion of the 'taxi monthly salary system' for two years.

The Industry, Trade, Small and Medium Enterprises and Startups Committee also sent 10 livelihood bills, including the Special Act on Strengthening Competitiveness and Stabilizing Supply Chains of Materials, Parts, and Equipment Industry (SoBuJang Act), to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee the day before. Bills that passed the standing committee include one (proposed by Kim Won-i) supporting procedures for reducing urban gas fees for vulnerable groups, and another (proposed by Lee Yeon-hee) that includes children from low-income families and students with disabilities receiving special education as beneficiaries of invention education support.

Park Sung-jun, Senior Deputy Floor Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea (left), and Bae Jun-young, Senior Deputy Floor Leader of the People Power Party, shake hands before holding practical consultations regarding the plenary session schedule at the National Assembly on the afternoon of the 13th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

On the 23rd and 26th, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, the Political Affairs Committee, the Health and Welfare Committee, and the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee are scheduled to discuss bills. Bills that pass each standing committee are likely to be submitted to the plenary session on the 28th after textual revisions by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. Since the ruling and opposition parties have agreed to pass non-contentious bills during the August extraordinary session, the pace of bill processing is accelerating.

Kim Sang-hoon, the Policy Committee Chair of the People Power Party, said at the morning Supreme Council meeting, "It seems that about 10 bills acceptable to both parties without disagreement will be agreed upon and processed during the August extraordinary session," adding, "I hope that the dialogue channel will continue to be open and consultations with the Democratic Party will proceed during the regular session starting in September."