A total of 135 bills cleared the National Assembly on Thursday in the final plenary session of the incumbent legislature. All of them were bills considered “undisputed,” leaving their successors in the next Assembly with the task of finalizing contentious agendas.
The bills dealing with disputed issues, such as labor reform, business deregulation and compensation for victims of toxic humidifier disinfectant and the Sewol tragedy, are expected to be resubmitted and discussed in the next Assembly scheduled to begin on May 30.
In a separate meeting on Thursday, the political parties agreed to keep the number of standing parliamentary committees to 18 for the next Assembly. The parties had considered increasing the number of committees by splitting up key committees.
The final plenary session marks the end of the 19th Assembly that critics have described as the “least productive.” Out of 17,822 bills proposed over the four-year session, just about 40 percent of them ended up clearing legislature.
“I hope the next 20th Assembly will serve in the interest of the people, not the ones with political power,” said the National Assembly Speaker Rep. Chung Ui-hwa. “Admittedly, we were not competent enough to play the roles that the people have given,” he said.
Among the bills that passed the last session is a revision that allows victims of medical malpractice to begin legal processes without the consent of hospitals and doctors. The new law is applied to cases in which the patient either died or was seriously injured.
Previously, the victims and family members were hindered from pursuing legal arbitration unless the hospitals and doctors who had treated the patients agreed to the process. The bill was introduced after popular South Korean singer Shin Hae-chul died from medical malpractice.
The lawmakers also passed a bill aimed to grant lawmakers more opportunity to have parliamentary hearing. The new legislation allows lawmakers to hold the session whenever necessary, and have an extraordinary session in August and parliamentary committee review session in March and May.
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Lawmakers attend the last plenary session of the 19th National Assembly on Thursday. Park Hae-mook/The Korea Herald |
Another bill that was endorsed allows children subject to physical and sexual abuse to file a lawsuit against their parents. The previous criminal law had banned the victims from suing their own parents and family members.
The lawmakers also passed a bill that requires the government to overhaul and improve safety regulations to prevent accidents caused by lax safety rules such as the Sewol ferry sinking. The tragedy left 304 killed or missing.
The outgoing Assembly was marked by repeated legislative deadlock and partisan standoffs. In 2012, the Assembly was deadlocked over the allegation that the nation’s spy agency had interfered with the 2012 presidential election to help then-presidential candidate Park Geun-hye win the contest.
Near the end of their term, lawmakers were mired in confrontation over the government’s push to introduce controversial counterterrorism bills. The opposition parties launched an unprecedented filibuster that lasted more than nine days.
“Throughout the 19th National Assembly, I think I have seen all the politics that I can ever imagine. It’s a bittersweet moment indeed,” said Rep. Moon Jae-in, former leader of the main opposition The Minjoo Party of Korea.
By Yeo Jun-suk (
jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)
