Assembly speaker to submit prosecutorial reform bills

Oct 29, 2019, 09:00 am

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National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang meets with the leaders of the three main parties at the Assembly on Monday. (From left) Rep. Lee In-young of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang, Rep. Na Kyung-won of the Liberty Korea Party (LKP) and Rep. Oh Shin-hwan of the Bareunmirae Party (BMP)./ Source: Yonhap

By AsiaToday reporter Lim Yoo-jin

National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang is expected to submit the prosecution reform-related bills, which have completed a 180-day review by related standing committee after being placed on the fast track, during the Assembly’s plenary session scheduled for Tuesday.

Moon is expected to announce the submission of the prosecution reform-related bills to a plenary session by sending an official document to the head of the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee on Tuesday at around 9 a.m., stating that the bill has been submitted to the plenary session.

Earlier, the leaders of the three main parties – Rep. Lee In-young of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), Rep. Na Kyung-won of the Liberty Korea Party (LKP) and Rep. Oh Shin-hwan of the Bareunmirae Party (BMP) – met that day at the Assembly with Speaker Moon, however they failed to reach a consensus over whether or not to pass the bills. The ruling DPK asked Moon to refer those bills to a plenary session to enable them to be put on the agenda. On the other hand, the main opposition LKP reacted strongly against the move, claiming the potential referral will constitute a violation of law.

“I have informed assembly speaker Moon that he could exercise his authority to submit prosecutorial reform bills during the Assembly’s plenary session tomorrow (Oct. 29) since the parliamentary judiciary committee’s 180-day review period for the fast-tracked bills ends today,” DP floor leader Lee In-young said. In response, DPK floor leader Na Kyung-won stressed that she has no choice but to take action against illegal submission for consideration. “The submission scheduled for Tuesday would basically defeat the original purpose of fast-track bills,” said BMP floor leader Oh Shin-hwan.

Speaker Moon is scheduled to pass four judiciary reform bills which were fast-tracked in April and completed a 180-day review, to the Assembly’s plenary session. The bills include establishing a special unit to investigate corruption allegations against high-ranking officials. During the meeting with the floor leaders of three political parties, Moon is known to have called for an agreement among the floor leaders, saying, “A lot of people at the working level tell me that I could refer the bills to a plenary session on Tuesday. If three of you reach a consensus here, I will submit the bills to a plenary meeting for consideration as planned and lay them before Parliament.”

Moon consulted with experts from various fields and concluded that there were no legal issues with submitting the bills to a plenary session for consideration on Tuesday. However, he is not likely to lay the bills before the Assembly, but focus on calling for mutual agreement between rival parties. Since the bills are under the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, a 90-day session by the legislation and judiciary panel can be omitted, however Moon believes it is ideal to confirm the submission with mutual agreement between the parties.

The LKP says it will take a strong legal response, including legal action, if the prosecutorial reform bills are submitted to the plenary session for consideration on Tuesday. The main opposition party is expected to deliver a speech to the public on Tuesday stressing the inadequacy of the bill to set up an independent unit to probe corruption allegations by high-ranking officials. On the other hand, the DPK is considering to band together with the three political parties except the LKP.

As rival parties are expected to clash on the issue, Moon said he would not immediately lay the bills and put them to a vote. As Moon said he might propose a package settlement to the major parties to seek an overall agreement on different bills including the judiciary reform bills and the electoral reform bills, the submission to the plenary session is expected to take place in early December.

#Moon Hee-sang #prosecution reform