Choo Kyungho, floor leader of the People Power Party, proposed to the Democratic Party on the 5th to prioritize handling bills related to people’s livelihoods and the economy which have less disagreement between the ruling and opposition parties, instead of contentious bills where the exercise of the president’s veto power is expected.
During the People Power Party’s Supreme Council meeting on the same day, Choo stated, “It has been over two months since the 22nd National Assembly began, but during this time, all the National Assembly has shown to the people is extreme confrontation.” He added, “In the past two months, there have been 7 impeachment bills and 9 special prosecutor bills presented in the National Assembly, with bills like the ‘four broadcasting control laws’ being unilaterally passed without bipartisan agreement.”
Choo emphasized, “For the past two months, the National Assembly has been filled with the legislative frenzy of a giant opposition party, rampant bullying and insults, with no consideration for people’s livelihoods.” He appealed to the Democratic Party, saying, “I urge you to stop the destructive political strife and return to focusing on people’s livelihoods starting with the August interim session that begins today.”
Furthermore, Choo made a public proposal to Park Chan-dae, floor leader of the Democratic Party, for open discussion and priority handling of bills related to people’s livelihoods in each standing committee before seeking bipartisan agreement. He listed bills related to people’s livelihoods and the economy that have less disagreement between the ruling and opposition parties, including the Nursing Act, Establishment of a Population Strategy Planning Department, Special Law on Support for Victims of Housing Fraud, Freight Standard Freight Rate Law, Special Law on Expansion of National Grid Capacity, ‘K-Chips Act’, Terminal Distribution Law, Special Law for High-Level Waste Management Facilities, and Stalking and Domestic Violence Prevention Act.
Choo also suggested, “In addition to this, negotiations between the ruling and opposition parties should also be conducted to narrow down differences on urgent people’s livelihood reform tasks such as low birth rates, pension reform, and tax reform including capital gains tax, land tax, and inheritance tax.”
On the other hand, while the Democratic Party plans to handle the labor union law revision bill during the plenary session at the National Assembly on that day, the People Power Party intends to suggest to President Yoon Suk-yeol to exercise his veto power, citing concerns that the bill may encourage illegal strikes.