Swift action on bills called for

By Jun Ji-hye

Rep. Chin Young

Rep. Chin Young, vice chairman of President-elect Park Geun-hye’s transition team, Tuesday called for the swift passage of bills that include policy pledges shared by the ruling and opposition parties.

“Regarding promises that the two parties have made to the public during the presidential election, if there are common parts, I expect that both parties can cooperate to create and pass bills at the earliest possible date,” said Rep. Chin during the ruling Saenuri Party’s floor meeting at the National Assembly.

His remarks came a day after the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) declared that it will cooperate with the ruling party to put policies of the President-elect that overlap with the DUP’s into legislation.

Rep. Moon Hee-sang, interim chairman of the DUP, has said that among Park’s pledges, there are many things in common with the DUP, such as democratization of economy and welfare. He stressed that the DUP is open to working with the ruling party.

Following the move, the DUP launched a new committee to fulfill election pledges, the first task of which will be a verification of Park’s pledges. According to Rep. Jung Sung-ho, chief spokesman of the party, the DUP will decide which are in line with policy proposals it made during the election after this verification.

Chin, who was chairman of the Saenuri Party’s policy committee, said he welcomes the DUP’s newly-launched committee and its will to put election pledges into practice.

“I want to ask the DUP to enact policy proposals together at the National Assembly,” he said.

The lawmaker suggested laws to protect short-term workers and dispatched workers, ways of improving residential environments such as farming and fishing villages, the prevention of domestic violence and support for single parents, as key bills that the two parties will have to deal with in January.

He also called for a revision of local tax reductions and extending the deadline for the real estate acquisition tax, saying those laws are related to people's livelihoods.

Meanwhile, Chin asked the Saenuri Party to understand the transition team’s emphasis on information security.

“I am aware of criticism about the team’s lack of communication because the team has placed the greatest importance on security. But, if such information leaks before being finalized, it will only cause confusion among the public,” he said.

“We always make announcements only after such things are definitely settled. In the process, we also collect extensive opinions from all walks of life,” he added.

The Vice chairman of the team stressed that the team’s work is well under way as planned.