Rep. Bok Ki-wang of the Democratic Party of Korea [provided by the lawmaker's office]
Rep. Bok Ki-wang of the Democratic Party of Korea [provided by the lawmaker's office]

The Democratic Party of Korea's National Social Economy Committee, chaired by Rep. Bok Ki-wang, and the Social Solidarity Economy Legislation Task Force, led by Rep. Kim Young-bae, held an emergency press conference Tuesday at the National Assembly's communication hall, urging that the Social Solidarity Economy Framework Act — a bill 13 years in the making — must pass the full Assembly plenary session on Thursday.

Bok said the press conference was convened to break a deadlock in which the bill, despite clearing a standing committee substitute consolidation and vote as well as a Legislation and Judiciary Committee review in the 22nd National Assembly, has remained stalled before the full plenary for three months without clearing its final hurdle.

"The UN has adopted a resolution calling on member states to provide institutional support for the social solidarity economy," Kim Young-bae said. "On Thursday, we must end 13 years of waiting, pass the Social Solidarity Economy Framework Act, and lay a historic stepping stone for solidarity and cooperative governance."

Rep. Park Jeong-hyeon said the bill was first introduced in 2014 and has gone through three successive Assemblies in a cycle of introduction and lapsing, making it a long-cherished piece of legislation for the social solidarity economy sector. "In the face of compounding crises — polarization, regional depopulation, care gaps and the climate emergency — these organizations have served as the backbone of communities where residents protect one another's lives," she said. "It is hard to accept the reality that the bill has been left to languish."

Rep. Song Jae-bong stressed that the social solidarity economy is a shared livelihood policy for both ruling and opposition parties, not a subject of political dispute. He noted that North Gyeongsang Province, led by a People Power Party local government head, had won top honors in a social enterprise development assessment, and that a social enterprise in Cheongdo-gun, North Gyeongsang Province, had converted vacant homes into a village hotel and workcation space — evidence, he said, that opposition-led local governments are actively embracing the sector as a solution to regional depopulation.

Rep. Lee Gwang-hui said the Lee Jae Myung administration had made clear its commitment to supporting the social solidarity economy as a national priority, with the Ministry of Interior and Safety and 19 other related ministries jointly announcing a comprehensive plan covering 146 tasks. "It is contradictory and unacceptable for the National Assembly to keep stalling a livelihood policy that even the government has endorsed, out of political calculation," he said.

Rep. Lee Hae-sik urged the People Power Party to "stop obstructing and cooperate constructively toward passage at the plenary session."

A total of 27 Assembly members, including those from the National Social Economy Committee and the Social Solidarity Economy Legislation Task Force, signed a joint statement at Tuesday's press conference.


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