Ruling and Opposition Parties Join Forces on Livelihood Issues... Push to Pass 32 Key Bills Including "Emergency Room Bouncing Prevention"

Ruling and Opposition Policy Chiefs Hold Joint Meeting on Livelihood Legislation
Further Discussions Planned on Real Estate and Taxation via New Coordination Channel

The policy chiefs of the ruling and opposition parties agreed on September 15 to select key livelihood-related bills and seek to have them passed during the current regular session of the National Assembly.

Kwon Chilseung, Policy Committee Chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea, Im Eejah, Policy Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, and other committee officials met at the National Assembly to hold a "Joint Meeting on Livelihood Policies," during which they selected 32 bills for processing.

Kwon Chilseung, Democratic Party Policy Committee Chair (third from the right), and Lim Eija, People Power Party Policy Committee Chair, along with key policymakers from both parties, attended the "Democratic Party and People Power Party Joint Meeting on Livelihood Policies" held at the National Assembly on the 15th, posing for a photo before the meeting began. 2026.09.15 Photo by Dongju Yoon

Among the 32 bills are the "Emergency Medical Services Act," which aims to prevent patients from being bounced between emergency rooms; the "Foreign Investment Promotion Act," which clarifies standards for foreign investment; and the "Elderly Care Housing Act," which seeks to provide specialized residential care for seniors.

In addition, regarding the preliminary feasibility study (pre-feasibility study, or YE-TA) criteria for regional balanced development, they agreed to raise the total project cost requirement from 50 billion won to 100 billion won, and the national government support threshold from 30 billion won to 50 billion won. They also agreed to amend the Capital Markets Act to introduce a mandatory public tender offer system aimed at strengthening the rights of minority shareholders. Other agreements include extending tax and financial support for business succession not only within families but also through third parties and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) under the "Special Act on Small and Medium-Size Enterprise Succession," enacting new regulations to mandate digital infrastructure safety management through the "Digital Disaster Safety Management Act," and expanding credits for military service and childbirth under the national pension scheme. The policy chiefs also discussed amending the Urban Renewal Act to raise floor space ratios, but no agreement was reached on that issue.

Meanwhile, at the suggestion of Im, the parties agreed to strengthen cooperation at the policy committee level on issues such as real estate and taxation. Kwon noted, "We need to coordinate opinions on who will serve as vice chair of the policy committee, how to set the agenda, and how to structure the meeting body if discussions are expanded to include standing committee secretaries and other participants."

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