Democratic Party Leads Designation of 'Semiconductor Act, Banking Act, Franchise Act' as Fast-Track

April 17, 2025, National Assembly Plenary Session. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

The Semiconductor Special Act bill and the amendments to the Banking Act and the Franchise Business Act were designated as 'fast-track (expedited processing agenda)' on the 17th, led by the Democratic Party of Korea.

On the same day, the National Assembly held a secret ballot on the agenda to designate the three bills as fast-track during the plenary session. The voting results were as follows: Semiconductor Special Act (180 in favor, 70 against, 3 abstentions, 5 invalid votes), Banking Act (188 in favor, 69 against, 1 invalid vote), and Franchise Business Act (186 in favor, 67 against), all of which were passed and thus proceeded to the fast-track process.

The Semiconductor Special Act bill and the amendments to the Banking Act and Franchise Business Act have been key initiatives of the Democratic Party, but the People Power Party had opposed them. Although the Democratic Party holds a majority of seats, the chairpersons of the Industry, Trade, Energy, Small and Medium Enterprises Committee and the Political Affairs Committee, which oversee these bills, are both from the People Power Party, making it impossible to advance the bills.

However, since the bills were designated as fast-track on this day, they will automatically be submitted after going through the standing committee review (up to 180 days), the Legislation and Judiciary Committee’s systematic and detailed review (90 days), and the plenary session submission (60 days). This means that even if the review is not completed within 330 days, the process can move to the next stage.

The Semiconductor Special Act stipulates that a semiconductor industry support plan be established every five years and provides various tax and regulatory benefits to support related companies. However, the 'white-collar exemption (recognition of exceptions to the 52-hour workweek)' clause requested by the People Power Party was excluded.

The amendment to the Banking Act prohibits banks from including insurance premiums and contributions in the additional interest rates.

The amendment to the Franchise Business Act requires franchise business associations to register with the Fair Trade Commission and allows franchise store owners to form groups to request negotiations on transaction conditions with the headquarters.

Meanwhile, before the plenary session on the same day, the Democratic Party submitted a fast-track designation request to the National Assembly with the names of 170 affiliated lawmakers. Since the fast-track designation requires the consent of at least three-fifths (180 members) of the total members of the National Assembly, coordination was completed to cooperate with the Innovation Party, which holds 12 seats.