Lawmaker's aides spend five days waiting for 'first bill' title

An aide to Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Park Kwang-on sits in front of the center processing lawmakers' bills at the National Assembly, Friday. / Yonhap

By Kim Rahn

On Thursday morning, aides to Rep. Park Kwang-on of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) started four nights and five days of waiting in turn in front of the National Assembly's center that processes bills ― to make sure Park's bill is the first to be submitted at the 21st Assembly.

Several aides have been taking turns day and night to wait for the center's opening. Although the new Assembly's official term started Saturday, the center's work begins at 9 a.m. Monday after the weekend.

Park's bill is about public organizations' duty for social value, with a similar bill having been submitted during the previous Assembly but abolished automatically after more than two years pending at the Strategy and Finance Committee.

If Park's waiting tactic works, the bill will be given the number “2100001,” meaning the No. 1 bill submitted at the 21st Assembly.

Such tactics were employed in the 20th Assembly as well: aides to Rep. Park Jeung of the DPK stayed overnight in front of the center before the opening.

Park Kwang-on's waiting has drawn criticism from the main opposition United Future Party (UFP), which said the ruling party should not focus on a competition for the “first bill” title but cooperation with the opposition.

Saying Park's planned bill was similar to those that had already been scrapped at the 19th and 20th Assemblies, UFP vice spokesman Hwang Kyu-hwan said in a statement, “Park's 'efforts' to get the 'first' title by submitting the bill, which had been abolished twice, are pitiful. It is the time to focus on content, not simply title, and show actual achievement, not just a PR stunt.”