Opposition's push for contentious bills expected to lead to parliamentary filibuster
President Yoon Suk Yeol, center row, shakes hands with lawmakers from opposition parties at the Plenary Chamber of the National Assembly in Seoul, Oct. 31. Yonhap
The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is expected to attempt to pass a pro-labor bill and three other contentious measures through the National Assembly starting Thursday, as the ruling People Power Party (PPP) has vowed to use a filibuster to block the attempt.
The PPP has readied a roster of about 60 lawmakers to take the podium for successive speeches to obstruct the DPK's attempts to pass the revision to the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act and the three other bills on broadcasting laws.
The pro-labor legislation, better known as the "yellow envelope bill," aims to limit companies from making damage claims against legitimate labor union disputes, while the broadcasting law revisions are intended to reduce the government's influence over public broadcasters.
Should the PPP launch a filibuster, it would mark the first such action in about 1 1/2 years since the then opposition PPP used the tactic against a bill restricting the prosecution's investigative rights.
Under the National Assembly Act, however, a filibuster can be ended after 24 hours if at least three-fifths of all parliament members, or 179 lawmakers, consent to it. The DPK, which has 168 lawmakers, can join hands with minor opposition parties and independents to end the delaying speech.
Starting Thursday, the DPK plans to introduce one bill each day and end a filibuster after 24 hours, before putting it to a vote and passing it. The whole process is expected to continue through Monday.
Even if the bills are finally approved, however, President Yoon Suk Yeol can exercise his veto power, and the ruling party has said it would ask Yoon to do so.
Two-thirds parliamentary support is necessary to override a presidential veto. That means the DPK needs the support of at least 199 lawmakers in the 298-member National Assembly to reapprove the bill, but the party does not have enough members and sympathizers.
Yoon has previously rejected two opposition-led bills — a nursing act aimed at stipulating the roles and responsibilities of nurses and a revision to the Grain Management Act, which required the government's purchase of surplus rice. (Yonhap)