국회는 22일 미래창조과학부와 해양수산부를 신설해 '15부2처18청'에서 '17부3처17청'으로 확대 개편하는 내용의 정부조직법 개정안을 통과시켰다.
국회는 이날 본회의에서 새누리당과 민주통합당이 합의해 마련한 정부조직법 개정안을 표결에 부쳐 재석의원 212명 가운데 찬성 188명, 반대 11명, 기권 13명으로 가결 처리했다.
이로써 정부조직법 개정안은 지난 1월 30일 국회에 제출된 이후 52일 만에 국회를 통과했고, 박근혜 정부도 출범 26일 만에 정상 가동하게 됐다.
이에 앞서 국회는 문화체육관광방송통신위와 행정안전위, 법제사법위를 잇달아 열어 정부조직법·방송법 개정안 등 정부조직 개편 관련 법안을 소관 상임위별로 처리했다.
이날 국회에서 의결된 정부조직법 개정안은 박근혜 대통령의 '경제부흥' 의지에 따라 경제부총리가 5년 만에 부활하고, 미래창조과학부·해양수산부가 신설되는 것을 핵심 내용으로 하고 있다.
지식경제부는 외교통상부의 통상기능을 넘겨받으며 산업통상자원부로 확대됐고, 외교통상부는 외교부로 축소됐다.
또 행정안전부는 국민안전 분야를 총괄하면서 안전행정부로 명칭을 바꿨으며, 식품의약품안전청이 처(處)로 승격됐다. 특임장관실은 폐지됐다.
중소기업청은 산업통상자원부 산하 외청으로 남았지만, 중견기업 정책과 지역특화발전 기능을 넘겨받으면서 기능이 대폭 강화됐다.
다만, 이번 정부개편에서 미래부와 방송통신위원회 간 소관 업무는 당초 대통령직 인수위가 마련한 원안에서 일부 변경됐다.
여야 합의에 따라 지상파 방송의 허가·재허가 권한을 현행대로 방송통신위에 존치키로 하고, 미래부가 유선방송방송(SO) 등 뉴미디어 사업의 허가·재허가·변경허가, 관련 법령의 제·개정 시 방통위의 사전 동의를 받도록 한 것이다.
이번 개편으로 국무위원 수는 16명에서 17명으로 1명 늘어났다. 신설된 2개 부처 장관이 새로운 국무위원이 되지만, 특임장관이 폐지됐기 때문이다.
이와 함께 정부조직법 개정안 처리가 늦어지면서 지연돼 온 최문기 미래창조과학부 장관 내정자와 윤진숙 해양수산부 장관 내정자의 인사청문회도 조만간 열릴 것으로 보인다.
정부는 금명간 정홍원 국무총리 주재로 국무회의를 열어 정부조직법 관련 법률안을 심의 의결하기로 했다.
<관련 영문 기사>
Gov’t reorganization bill passes after 52-day wrangling
By Choi He-suk
The National Assembly approved the government reorganization bill on Friday, opening the way for President Park Geun-hye’s plans to be implemented 26 days after her inauguration.
Under the plans the government will be restructured to 17 ministries and three lower-level ministries, from the current format of 15 ministries and two low-level ministries.
Of the attending 212 lawmakers at the Assembly‘s plenary session held in the afternoon, 188 approved the bill, while 11 opposed and 13 abstained.
The ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic United Party had been wrangling over which government body to put in charge of broadcasting issues. The two sides had reached an agreement on Sunday, but the reorganization bill was once again delayed with members of the Culture, Sports, Tourism, Broadcasting and Communications Committee disagreeing over the scope of authority the new Ministry of Future Planning and Science will have with regards to licensing of concerned businesses.
DUP lawmakers on the Broadcasting Committee argued that the KCC should be given authority over cases regarding license type changes, while the Saenuri Party lawmakers have called for the issue to be transferred to the Science Ministry.
The issue was then resolved in late-night talks Thursday with the Saenuri Party largely accepting the demands made by the DUP.
Under the agreement reached late Thursday night, the Korea Communications Commission will be in charge of relicensing and licensing of terrestrial broadcasters.
The KCC will, however, be required to reflect the results of technical reviews conducted by the Ministry of Future Planning and Science in processing license and relicense applications.
In addition, the Science Ministry will be required to gain approval from the KCC in making decisions regarding any changes in the operations of cable system operators, satellite television companies and other related businesses.
The bill has passed, but the discord between the ruling Saenuri Party and main opposition Democratic United Party has nonetheless elevated to a blame game.
“The tedious battle that lasted 52 days was caused by the vegetable ruling party Saenuri, the government and Cheong Wa Dae,” DUP floor spokesman Yoon Gwan-seok said in a briefing on Friday. He added that President Park Geun-hye advising the negotiators to stick to the original plans and the Saenuri Party being overly concerned about the president’s disposition prevented smooth negotiations.
The Saenuri Party, meanwhile, pointed fingers at DUP lawmakers for the delay.
“The DUP brought up issues completely beside the point, even before the ink had dried, causing a few more days of delay,” Saenuri floor leader Lee Hahn-koo said at the party’s general meeting Friday.
“It was deemed that it would be more beneficial to the people and the nation to just accept (the DUP’s demands) despite the fact that the DUP was clearly being stubborn.”
With the talks dragging out for an unprecedented period, which resulted in Park becoming the first president to take office without receiving the go-ahead to make changes to government organization, the two main parties now face criticisms as lacking leadership.
While the DUP managed to gain significant concessions from the ruling party, the main opposition will be unable to avoid criticism that it hampered the operations of the new government, pundits said.
“The DUP will have to carry the blame that it held back the launch of the Park Geun-hye government,” former DUP supreme council member Kim Bu-gyeom said in a radio interview on Friday. He went on to say that the DUP and the delay in passing the government reorganization bill will be blamed for any mistakes the government makes in the future.
In addition, professor Yang Seung-ham of Yonsei University points out that by dragging out the negotiations, the DUP may have missed out on the chance to apply pressure on the government and the ruling party in other areas such as the confirmation hearings.
The DUP, however, is not alone in being criticized for lack of leadership.
“In the end, the two conditions the opposition party put forward were both accepted. If the decision was made earlier, then the launch of the government would not have been delayed by three or four days,” Rep. Cho Hae-jin said in a radio interview. He added that the results of the negotiations over the issue made him “disconcerted and shameful.”
Cho is the Saenuri Party’s executive secretary on the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports, Tourism, Broadcasting and Communications Committee.
(
cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)
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