Plenary Session Postponed from 8th to 15th... Special Prosecutor Bill Delayed by One Week

Office of the Speaker: "Additional discussions are necessary"
Speaker to convene bipartisan meeting immediately after ruling party floor leader is elected

With the National Assembly plenary session postponed from the 8th to the 15th, the passage of the second comprehensive and Unification Church special prosecutor bill, which the Democratic Party is pushing for, is also expected to be delayed by a week from the original plan.

Yonhap News Agency

On the 7th, the Office of the Speaker of the National Assembly stated, "With significant differences between the ruling and opposition parties regarding the plenary session scheduled for the 8th, the floor leadership from both sides held a meeting chaired by the Speaker." The office continued, "As a result of the meeting, it was determined that additional discussions are necessary to reconcile these differences, making it difficult to hold the plenary session on the 8th." The rescheduled plenary session is now set for the 15th. The meeting was attended by Speaker Woo Wonshik, Democratic Party Deputy Floor Leader for Operations Moon Jinseok, Democratic Party Floor Spokesperson Moon Geumjoo, and People Power Party Deputy Floor Leader for Operations Yoo Sangbeom.

Speaker Woo had initially planned to address the request for a parliamentary investigation into Coupang and process major livelihood and reform bills at the plenary session on the 8th, but has decided to delay the timing. The Office of the Speaker explained, "Given the previous discussions between the parties and the imminent election of a new floor leader by the ruling party, unilaterally convening the plenary session would not be appropriate for the future operation of the National Assembly." The office added, "Particularly, it is necessary to consider that the President is currently on an important diplomatic trip for the national interest during this critical period."

Speaker Woo plans to convene a meeting of the ruling and opposition party floor leaders as soon as the Democratic Party elects its new floor leader on the 11th, and to discuss the agenda for the plenary session scheduled for the 15th. The Office of the Speaker emphasized, "We intend to hold the plenary session on the 15th to address key bills, including the special prosecutor bill, and to process livelihood bills for which the filibuster has been lifted." The office further stated, "Since the opposition has also mentioned the need to discuss lifting the filibuster on livelihood bills, we hope for a sincere discussion on these matters."

Yonhap News Agency

Initially, the Democratic Party had planned to bring the second comprehensive and Unification Church special prosecutor bill to the plenary session on the 8th, and convened the Legislation and Judiciary Committee on the 7th to review the bills. The committee referred both bills to the Agenda Coordination Committee. The Agenda Coordination Committee, which consists of six members, is responsible for reviewing items that require adjustment due to differences of opinion. A proposal is adopted by the committee if it receives the approval of at least two-thirds of its members.

Nakyeon Na, a member of the People Power Party, criticized, "The Agenda Coordination Committee is meant to ensure sufficient discussion when the majority party tries to unilaterally push through a bill without proper deliberation, but the Democratic Party is trying to pass the special prosecutor bill unilaterally today."

However, with the plenary session postponed by a week, the schedule for the Legislation and Judiciary Committee has also been delayed. A committee official stated, "There is talk of holding the meeting on the 12th."