Often found at theaters and museums, Kwon Mee-yoo has covered a wide range of cultural fields from K-pop and dramas to theater and fine art for over a decade. Now as K-Culture Desk editor, she tries to connect Korean culture with global readers through fresh perspectives.
Bill to be proposed to allow babies in National Assembly meeting rooms
Rep. Yong Hye-in of the Basic Income Party speaks during a plenary session of the National Assembly in this April 20 photo. Yong, who gave birth to a boy on May 8, proposed a bill to allow children under 24 months old to enter the National Assembly's meeting rooms and plenary chamber. Yonhap
By Kwon Mee-yoo
By Kwon Mee-yoo
The National Assembly's plenary chamber and meeting rooms are currently “no kids zones.” But what if a lawmaker has to take care of a newborn child while doing their job? The Assembly has again begun to discuss this issue after Rep. Yong Hye-in of the minor opposition Basic Income Party gave birth on May 8.
She said that she would propose a bill to revise the National Assembly Act, so that members of the National Assembly may be allowed to bring in their infants ― under 24 months of age who need attention ― to the plenary chamber and other meeting rooms.
Currently, under Article 151, no person other than National Assembly members, the prime minister and people necessary for examining bills can have access to the meeting place.
"Babies in the National Assembly will let more people recognize that pregnancy, childbirth and childcare are not private but social issues. Now is the right time to pass this bill," the 30-year-old lawmaker said. "Babies cry and whine. Babies entering the National Assembly, a place considered solemn, will let the public know that babies can go anywhere with their parents."
Conservative main opposition People Power Party (PPP) floor leader Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon joined in the proposal with Yong, saying that the revision will sound an alarm in Korea's Assembly, which is behind the times.
"The National Assembly should reflect public sentiment, but it often clings to the rules and customs of the past. I will cooperate regardless of party differences to protect the nation and the people," Kim said in a statement.
Yong is the third woman to deliver a child during a legislative term, following former Rep. Jang Ha-na in 2015 and Rep. Shin Bo-ra in 2018.
Shin was the first female lawmaker to take maternity leave in Korea, but she had to report her absence to the speaker for each plenary session, as maternity leave is not guaranteed for legislators, who do not fall into the category of a “worker” according to the Labor Standards Act.
Shin proposed bills to allow childcare leave for lawmakers and to allow them to bring babies into the plenary chamber, but the bills were scrapped automatically when the 20th Assembly expired.
Female lawmakers on the rise
The move for changes comes with more young women making their way into the Assembly. The number of female lawmakers was in the single digits for each Assembly throughout the 20th century, but the number increased significantly in the 2000s ― from 21 women in the 16th National Assembly to 57 in the current 21st National Assembly ― due partially to parties' own quotas on young people and women affecting their nominations for the general elections.
Many countries allow babies to enter their parliaments. Australian Senator Larissa Waters breastfed her baby in the parliament in 2017, which marked the first such instance in the nation's history. "I had hoped to not only be able to feed my baby, but also to send a message to young women that they belong in the parliament," Waters was quoted as saying.
U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth cast a vote in the Senate with her newborn baby in 2018.
If the bill is passed, Yong's baby will be the first baby to enter the Assembly, as a part of the waves of changes towards increasing diversity in Korea's Assembly.
In 2020, a dog named Joy entered the Assembly for the first time in Korea's history. Joy is the guide dog of visually impaired pianist-turned-lawmaker Kim Ye-ji of the PPP. At that time, the Assembly lifted its ban on animals to allow guide dogs inside.