Min-sik bill, three preschool laws held up due to conflicts on fast-track bills

The last regular session of the 20th National Assembly was put to a halt due to a sharp disagreement between the ruling party and the main opposition party regarding the processing of the fast-track bills. As a result, the three major preschool laws, children’s life and safety law, which is also known as the Min-sik bill and was not a contentious bill, and three major data laws, which were scheduled to pass at a regular session of the National Assembly on Friday, are effectively put on hold.

The Liberty Korea Party (LKP) said it will launch a filibuster on all 199 bills scheduled to be processed during the Friday regular session. The main opposition party will continue a filibuster until the ongoing parliamentary regular session ends on December 10 to prevent the processing of fast-track bills, including the revision bill of the Public Official Election Act, a bill for establishing a criminal investigation body for high-ranking officials, and a bill for investigative powers reform, which will be brought in for a regular session after December 3. "A 'fast-track' train that got off to an illegal start is driving South Korea off a cliff of despair and downfall," LKP floor leader Na Kyung-won said on the reason for launching a filibuster during an urgent press conference on Friday.

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea demanded the withdrawal of a filibuster and refused to attend the regular session. "Stalling the passage of such bills with a filibuster amounts to paralyzing parliament in order to prevent the passage of any bill in conflict with the LKP’s interests," Ruling party Chairman Lee Hae-chan said in a rally against the LKP held in the afternoon of the same day at the National Assembly.


Ji-Hyun Kim jhk85@donga.com