Ruling Party Submits Revised Temp Workers’ Bill

Eight ruling Grand National Party lawmakers on the parliamentary committee for the environment and labor held a general meeting yesterday without opposition lawmakers and submitted a revised bill on the Non-regular Workers’ Act.

The main opposition Democratic Party and committee chairwoman Choo Mi-ae demanded that the meeting be invalidated,

Cho Won-jin, a ruling party lawmaker and a ranking committee member, chaired the meeting. “We asked Chairwoman Choo to open the meeting for more than 90 minutes but she did not begin it. That means she either avoided chairing the meeting or refused to exercise her right to do so. Under the National Assembly Act, I chaired the meeting.”

After announcing the beginning of the meeting around 3:32 p.m. and submitting 147 bills including the revised bill on the Non-regular Workers’ Act, Cho adjourned the meeting.

Article 50, Clause 5 of the National Assembly Act stipulates that a ranking member of a party to which a standing committee chairman does not belong to can exercise the right to chair a meeting when the chairman either refuses to open a meeting or avoids exercising the right to open a meeting.

Ruling party lawmaker Park Jun-seon said, “Choo implicitly but clearly expressed her will to refuse to chair the meeting. We had no other options.”

Choo hit back in a news conference, saying, “No meeting was ever opened. The Grand National Party can consider the gavel as a toy hammer.”

The Democratic Party’s Kim Jae-yun criticized the ruling party, saying, “Cho of the ruling party unilaterally held the meeting when the right to chair it was not transferred. That means the ruling party does not recognize the National Assembly.”

Twenty ruling party lawmakers, including those belonging to the environment and labor committee, submitted a resolution urging Choo to resign.

“Choo has not fulfilled her responsibility as chairwoman,” it said. “Since the beginning of the 18th National Assembly, Choo has not yet formed a subcommittee to examine bills. She also interrupted negotiations on the revision of the Non-regular Workers’ Act.”

koh@donga.com