Four parties put reform bills on fast track

Lawmakers and members of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) and the Bareunmirae Party try to get into a room where the special committee on judicial reform is holding a meeting to put reform bills on the fast track at the National Assembly, Monday. Yonhap

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By Park Ji-won

Four parties led by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) managed to get a series of reform bills fast-tracked for early National Assembly voting, Tuesday, despite strong opposition from the Liberty Korea Party (LKP).

Two special parliamentary committees ― chaired by liberals ― held extraordinary meetings to approve the fast-tracking of the bills that will increase the number of proportional representation seats in the Assembly, establish a special investigative body to look into corruption allegations against high-ranking officials and their families, and expand the independent investigative rights of the police.

The LKP, which has claimed the bills are aimed at extending "liberal rule," vowed to boycott parliamentary sessions and hold rallies near Cheong Wa Dae indefinitely to fight the "dictatorship" of President Moon Jae-in.

The LKP had staged sit-ins and sleep-ins over the past four days to prevent the special committees from holding meetings after lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), the Bareunmirae Party (BMP), the Party for Democracy and Peace (PDP) and the Justice Party agreed last week to fast-track the bills.

The LKP claimed that the four parties' move was illegal as it didn't give its consent. The party criticized the electoral reform bill in particular because it claims this is aimed at "extending the life of the current leftist regime."

Until the last minute of a committee meeting Monday, LKP lawmakers continued their sit-in protest, shouting during it to disrupt and delay the proceeding. Earlier, LKP members locked Rep. Chae Yi-bai of the BMP in his office for six hours to prevent him from participating in a key committee meeting to fast-track the bills while one of the LKP members allegedly broke a fax machine to prevent proposals from being sent for registration.

Their moves, however, may have violated the National Assembly Law which stipulates that anyone who uses violence in or near parliamentary meeting rooms with the aim of interrupting any lawful proceedings faces up to five years in jail or a 10 million won fine.

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If a bill is put on the fast track, it may be voted on within 330 days without the need for bipartisan support. The fast-tracked bills should be reviewed by the related standing committees within 180 days. If this is not done, the bills will be given another 90 days to be reviewed by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. If the committee does not do this, the bills will automatically be put to a vote within 60 days at an Assembly session. The time can be reduced if parties agree to vote on the bills.

If the electoral reform bill is passed by the Assembly without any revisions, there is a high chance that the 2020 general election will take place under its provisions that increase the number of proportional representations seats to 75 (out of the 300 total) and lowers the voting age to 18 from 19.

The DPK and Justice Party have filed complaints with the prosecution against LKP lawmakers for violating the National Assembly Law among others. Assembly officials also announced Tuesday that they had filed complaints against some lawmakers and party employees, which they didn't identify, with prosecutors on charges of obstruction of duty. In response, the LKP has filed complaints against DPK lawmakers.

Critics say it will take some time for the Assembly to be normalized as tension between the rival parties is still too high to be resolved. It is largely expected that parliamentary sessions will be put on hold for the time being as the LKP has pledged to continue its "anti-government" protests. This means that an extra budget bill and other key bills affecting the people's livelihoods will not be passed immediately.

LKP officials said the party is considering holding a protest in Gwanghwamun, near the Seoul Government Complex this week, while Chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn plans to travel around the country giving speeches criticizing government policies.

Following the committees' moves, the LKP leadership pledged to continue holding demonstrations.

"The 20th Assembly ended as of Tuesday," Hwang said during a party meeting.

"I will fight the Moon Jae-in administration and let citizens know the reality about this dictatorship."

DPK leaders welcomed the committees pushing the bills forward but also promised to hold discussions with the LKP to improve them.

During a meeting held after the bills were fast-tracked, Chairman Rep. Lee Hae-chan said, "The amendments on electoral reform and the establishment of the investigative unit are important to enshrine a stronger democratic system." He added that he was willing to discuss the bills ― especially on electoral reform ― with the LKP.

Meanwhile, more than one million people have now signed an online petition on the Cheong Wa Dae website calling for the LKP to be disbanded. The petition called for the dissolution of the party because it continued to block governmental bills, hold frequent street protests and defame its officials. As a rule, when a petition on the website is able to gather more than 200,000 signatures within 30 days of being posted, the presidential office must publicly respond to it.