'Shorter Fast-Track Review Period' Passed by Ruling Party-Led Subcommittee... Opposition Denounces "Parliamentary Tyranny"

Amendment to Shorten Fast-Track Review Period Approved

Junho Chun: "Need to Shorten Period in Line with System's Purpose"

Seungsoo Kim: "Arrogant Attitude Disregards Opposition and Public"

On July 28, the National Assembly Steering Committee held the Subcommittee on Improvement of National Assembly Operations, where the ruling party-led passage of an amendment to the National Assembly Act to shorten the deliberation period for the fast-track legislative process (Fast Track). The opposition criticized the move as a "parliamentary tyranny by the majority ruling party" and condemned the unilateral attempt to push it through.

On the 28th, at the 1st Subcommittee on Improvement of National Assembly Operations held at the National Assembly, Subcommittee Chairman Junho Chun is presiding over the meeting. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Junho Chun, Subcommittee Chairman for the Improvement of National Assembly Operations and Deputy Chief of Policy Affairs of the Democratic Party, met with reporters at the National Assembly after the first meeting of the subcommittee’s bill review on July 28, and said, "The agenda (regarding shortening the Fast Track deliberation period) has been handled by the subcommittee." He added that the related amendment to the National Assembly Act would be brought to the full Steering Committee meeting tomorrow with the goal of final passage at the plenary session expected on the 30th, laying out a concrete timeline.

Subcommittee Chairman Chun explained, "Regarding the shortening of the deliberation period for fast-track agenda items, we concluded that the existing Fast Track procedure has largely lost its effectiveness." He said, "Normally, the Fast Track takes around 330 days, but current legislative deadlines are even shorter than that," and added, "As legislative deliberations are typically completed within about 300 days, we believe there is a need to shorten the process further in order to align with the purpose and name of the system."

Chairman Chun also stated, "Many subcommittee members agreed that the deliberation period should be shortened to reflect present circumstances, although some members voiced opposition and the gap in opinion was not entirely bridged." He went on, however, "As this is not an issue requiring additional complicated review or procedures, but a matter of determining the appropriate period, I suggested that it would be best to proceed based on the will of the majority."

The ruling party decided to propose at the Steering Committee's plenary meeting an amendment bill to the National Assembly Act, sponsored by Assemblyman Sungjoon Jin, to cap the deliberation period at a maximum of 90 days. The initial proposal sought to reduce the periods to 60 days for standing committees, 15 days for the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, and immediate submission at the first plenary session once reported. In the final plan, however, the Judiciary Committee stage will be extended to 30 days.

The ruling party also announced it would take more time to review both the proposal to revise the unlimited debate (filibuster) system and the measure to prohibit the unauthorized bringing-in of sound equipment such as microphones into the assembly hall, which were also discussed at the subcommittee meeting. Chairman Chun said, "(For these related National Assembly Act amendments) I believed it was necessary to sufficiently respect the opinions of both ruling and opposition members and to further deliberate from various perspectives." He continued, "We therefore decided to continue deliberations on those matters."

People Power Party members who attended the subcommittee meeting protested the ruling party’s decision by leaving in the middle of the meeting. Kim Seungsoo, the opposition party’s Deputy Chief of Policy Affairs and the People Power Party’s Steering Committee liaison, said after walking out of the meeting, "All three bills discussed in the subcommittee are highly contentious between the ruling and opposition parties." He further stated, "As soon as the new latter-half assembly session began, the ruling party rushed to table these contentious bills as if frying beans over a lightning fire," expressing sharp criticism.

Deputy Chief of Policy Affairs Kim said, "This is nothing short of a declaration to repeat the very parliamentary tyranny by the majority ruling party that the people worried about." He added, "It wasn’t long ago that the ruling and opposition parties pledged—to revive parliamentary democracy through dialogue, compromise, and the spirit of cooperation—yet before the ink was even dry, today the ruling party once again committed this unilateral act of tyranny." He concluded, "This attitude is not only dismissive of the opposition, but also of the people themselves."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.