The August extraordinary session of the National Assembly got underway on Sunday, with another head-on collision between the ruling and opposition parties looking all but inevitable.
The Democratic Party of Korea is pushing to accelerate bill reviews with the goal of completing state policy priorities and reform legislation, while the People Power Party has staked out sharply different positions on a fast-track amendment and a ballot recount issue — signaling a rocky road ahead on nearly every major item on the agenda.
Under the National Assembly Act, the August extraordinary session is automatically convened on the 16th, but the PPP pressed for an earlier start, and the session opened on Sunday.
Full legislative activity is likely to be delayed somewhat, however, as early August falls during the summer recess and the Democratic Party is in the thick of its Aug. 17 party leadership convention. Some observers expect the plenary session — needed to pass the National Assembly Act amendment containing the fast-track shortening measure tabled during the July extraordinary session — to convene as early as around the 13th.
The Democratic Party is also moving to tighten the conditions for filibusters. A National Assembly Act amendment now before a subcommittee of the Assembly's steering committee would lower the threshold for filing a motion to end unlimited debate from one-third to one-fifth of all registered members, and allow the Assembly speaker to suspend a session if attendance falls below quorum during an unlimited debate. The PPP views the push to amend the Assembly Act as an attempt to suppress the opposition and has vowed to actively block it.
A clash over leveraged ETFs — exchange-traded funds blamed for fueling stock market volatility — is also expected. Park Ji-won, a supreme council member of the Democratic Party, said at a council meeting at the National Assembly on Monday that "the Democratic Party also takes seriously its responsibility in connection with the process by which single-stock leveraged products were introduced," adding that "if there were mistakes in how it was pursued, they must clearly be corrected." The party has signaled support for regulatory improvements, however, while drawing the line at the parliamentary investigation the PPP is demanding.
PPP chief spokesperson Park Sung-hoon sharpened his party's attack in a statement, saying, "The Lee Jae Myung administration, which turned the stock market into a gambling den and then looked away from its responsibility, no longer has the standing to speak of public trust." He said the PPP would use a parliamentary investigation to determine "who was warned of the risks and still pushed the policy forward, and who evaded responsibility."
The two parties are also far apart on the composition and operation of a public nomination committee tied to a special prosecutor bill targeting the National Election Commission, and further conflict is expected over the timing and method of a ballot recount at a handball arena counting center.
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