Special Committee Launched Immediately... To Operate Through March 9
Woo Wonshik: "The Bill Should Preferably Be Handled Within February"
With the passage at the National Assembly plenary session on February 9 of the resolution to form the Special Committee on the Act on Strategic Investment Management between the Republic of Korea and the United States (Special Act on Investment in the United States), which is related to Korea-U.S. tariff negotiations, the special committee was officially launched on the same day. The committee will operate for one month, from this day until March 9.
On the afternoon of the same day, the National Assembly held a plenary session and passed the "Motion to Form a Special Committee for the Handling of the Special Act on Investment in the United States." In the vote on the motion, of the 164 members present, 160 voted in favor, 3 (Assembly members Kim Junhyeong, Son Sol, and Yoon Jongho) voted against, and 1 (Assemblyman Han Changmin) abstained.
National Assembly Speaker Woo Wonshik said immediately after the passage of the bill that this was the result of an agreement reached through mutual concessions by both the ruling and opposition parties, adding, "On behalf of the people, I would like to express my gratitude." Addressing the special committee, he requested, "Although the activity period has been set at one month, I ask you to conduct intensive discussions so that, given the grave and urgent circumstances, it will be possible to pass the bill in February if at all possible."
He also addressed the U.S. government, saying, "The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea is discussing the bill with the will to handle it swiftly, while complying with our laws and procedures," and stressing that "the long-standing alliance between our two countries is rooted in deep mutual trust." These remarks were made in response to the U.S. government indicating its intention to reimpose higher tariffs, citing delays in the National Assembly's handling of the bill as a problem.
The operating period of the Special Committee on the Special Act on Investment in the United States is one month, from today until March 9. The chair of the special committee is to come from the People Power Party. Chief Deputy Spokesperson for the People Power Party’s floor, Choi Sujin, told reporters that day, "The (chair) has not yet been finalized." She also said, "For the formation of the special committee, we plan to recommend two members each from the Strategy and Finance Committee, the Political Affairs Committee, and the Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs, and Startups Committee."
Meanwhile, People Power Party Floor Leader Song Eonseok said at a general meeting of lawmakers held before the plenary session that day, "The ruling and opposition parties have agreed to form what is tentatively called the Special Committee on the Special Act on Investment in the United States, and it is scheduled to be dealt with at today's plenary session," expressing concern that "even so, there are no signs that Korea-U.S. relations will improve."
Regarding the government questioning sessions that will run until February 11, he said, "We will thoroughly scrutinize not only Korea-U.S. relations and real estate issues, but also problems such as food prices for the Lunar New Year holiday, the hastily promoted administrative integration plan pushed for election purposes, and the fact-finding into the Muan Airport passenger plane disaster, which has fizzled out because of the government's lack of cooperation."
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