National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik urged, “We must accomplish as much as possible during the February session of the National Assembly,” and emphasized, “Let’s first agree on an early supplementary budget and finalize negotiations on the semiconductor special law, among others.”
During his speech at the opening ceremony of the provisional National Assembly today, Speaker Woo stated, “The aftermath of the December 12th and 3rd martial law is still prevalent, and the resulting political issues continue to spread across the society. However, in such times, the National Assembly should maintain focus to ensure that issues concerning people’s livelihoods do not go missing.” He proposed, “Despite differing opinions between the ruling and opposition parties on the timing and specifics of the supplementary budget, let’s first agree on the timing and scale of an early supplementary budget and work together to narrow down the specifics.”
He further added, “Let’s accelerate the process so that the expected effects of the supplementary budget can be reflected in the revised economic outlook to be announced by the Bank of Korea later this month. The supplementary budget that the National Assembly and government must urgently implement is not just about people’s livelihoods, but also about restoring economic sentiment, defending growth rates, and stabilizing state affairs.”
Speaker Woo also argued, “The tariff war from the United States has brought about dark clouds,” and stressed the urgent need to conclude negotiations on laws that support future industries, such as the semiconductor special law and the three energy law.
He continued, “Through the National Affairs Council, we must establish key principles for bipartisan agendas and concretize them within each standing committee of the National Assembly.” He suggested, “Let’s hold the first council meeting soon to discuss the supplementary budget and legislation for the people’s economy and collaboratively address industrial and trade issues.”
Speaker Woo urged the political parties, “I request that the special pension committee, climate committee, and ethics committee, which are stalled with only approval remaining following the conclusion of discussions between the ruling and opposition parties, be established during this February’s provisional National Assembly.”