South Korea ruling party advances bill to speed up legislation, opposition walks out

A bill to significantly shorten the review period for fast-track legislation has passed a subcommittee in South Korea's National Assembly, driven by the ruling party. The revision aims to reduce the process from a maximum of 330 days to around 100 days, addressing concerns that the current system has lost its effectiveness.

The proposed changes would cut the maximum review time for standing committees from 180 to 60 days and for the Legislation and Judiciary Committee from 90 to 30 days. Additionally, the bill seeks to expedite the process of bringing a bill to a plenary session, allowing it to be considered at the first session after being referred.

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We assessed that the existing fast-track system has lost much of its effectiveness. It is necessary to shorten the processing period in line with its purpose and name.

The main opposition People Power Party vehemently opposed the bill, staging a walkout during the subcommittee meeting. They decried the move as a "declaration of war" by the majority party, echoing past criticisms of legislative overreach. Despite the opposition's protest, the ruling Democratic Party, along with the Justice Party, proceeded to pass the bill in the absence of the People Power Party.

The Democratic Party plans to push the bill through the full committee and the Legislation and Judiciary Committee on November 29, with the goal of a final vote in the National Assembly on November 30. The People Power Party is expected to employ a filibuster to block the legislation. The subcommittee also considered a bill to strengthen filibuster requirements, but it did not pass due to the opposition's objections. The ruling party aims to finalize legislative improvements to the filibuster system within the year.

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This is nothing short of a declaration of war, stating that we will reproduce the parliamentary 폭거 (tyranny/outrage) of the majority party.