By Yi Whan-woo
The rival parties have agreed to vote on the much-touted anti-corruption bill today after wrangling for months over whether its details are constitutional or infringe upon individual freedom.
The ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) will deal with the bill at a parliamentary plenary session slated for 2 p.m.
Named after a former judge and former chairwoman of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC), the so-called Kim Young-ran bill will take effect one-and-a-half years after it was proposed, if it is approved.
The two parties put the finishing touches on the government proposal during a meeting between their floor leaders ― Rep. Yoo Seong-min of the Saenuri Party and Rep. Woo Yeun-keun of the NPAD.
Proposed by Kim in August 2012, the bill stipulates that civil servants who receive money or valuables worth 1 million won ($908) or more can be jailed for up to three years.
In addition, it states that punitive measures must be taken regardless of whether the money or goods were given in return for favors or not.
The controversial proposal was also initially set to be applicable to family members of the bureaucrats, including their spouses as well as distant relatives.
It was estimated that up to 17.8 million people would likely be affected by the envisioned bill.
The rival parties then agreed that officials would be punished in cases where their spouses received money or valuables worth 1 million or more and did not report it to the legal authorities.
The bill was referred to the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee after passing the National Policy Committee in January.
It has been on hold since then because some members of the legislation committee took issue with certain details, suggesting that they may be unconstitutional.
In addition to government officials, the National Policy Committee endorsed the plan to expand the range of the bill to journalists and private school teachers, triggering controversy.
The Saenuri Party accepted the NPAD’s call to include these professions as stipulated by the National Policy Committee.
The bill drew attention in the wake of the Sewol ferry disaster on April 16 last year.
Corrupt ties between bureaucrats and entrepreneurs were cited as the main cause of the sinking of the ferry that claimed 304 lives, mainly high school students.
President Park Geun-hye has urged the parliament to pass the bill promptly, vowing to ferret out bureaucratic corruption.
There has been growing criticism that politicians have been pushing for the bill, despite the possibility of it violating the Constitution.
Critics say the new bill infringes upon the freedom of speech and individual rights of journalists and teachers in private schools.