Lawmaker seeks permission to bring baby to Assembly

Rep. Shin Bo-ra

By Park Ji-won

Rep. Shin Bo-ra of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) has asked National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang for permission to bring her six-month-old baby to plenary sessions.

The 36-year-old mother said this was to share the experiences of working mothers with men, and to get the Assembly to create a family-friendly working environment, Shin said.

She said working parents must receive support from their employers as well as the country “systemically.”

Shin gave birth to a son last September and took maternity leave. She later proposed a bill to allow mothers to bring babies under 24 months of age into Assembly sessions because they needed breastfeeding.

The National Assembly Act stipulates that only National Assembly members, the prime minister, members of the Cabinet, government delegates, persons necessary for the auditing of bills and those permitted by the Speaker can have access to chambers within the Assembly building. The rules do not explicitly ban infants, but they possibly require the Assembly speaker Moon's permission. If he approves her request, she will be the first lawmaker to bring an infant to an Assembly session.

The speaker, meanwhile, reportedly said he will decide whether to give approval when her bill is put to a vote during a plenary session will likely be held April 5.

Floor leaders of the LKP, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and Bareunmirae Party agree with her wish to bring her baby to Assembly sessions, according to Shin. However, the speaker is reportedly hesitant to do so as it is unprecedented.

Debates about bringing babies to legislative sessions are ongoing around the world. Female politicians have made headlines by taking their babies to work. New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern made history by taking her newborn daughter to the U.N. General Assembly in September last year. In April 2018, the U.S. Senate changed the law to allow senators to bring children under the age of one onto the Senate floor and breastfeed them during votes. However, Japanese politicians barred their colleagues from bringing babies to Diet sessions in November 2017.