The National Assembly's Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee passed nine bills led by the Democratic Party of Korea while People Power Party members were absent. The ruling party is refusing to participate in all standing committee meetings in protest of the opposition's unilateral passage of contentious legislation.
The committee held its third plenary session on the 25th and approved nine bills, including partial amendments to the Framework Act on Science and Technology, the Act on Fostering and Supporting Women Scientists and Engineers, and the Broadcasting Act.
People Power Party members boycotted the session en masse. This followed their declaration to boycott all standing committee participation after the Democratic Party decided to convene a plenary session the previous day to unilaterally pass contentious bills, starting with the third Commercial Act revision.
However, the Democratic Party holds 11 of the committee's 20 seats, exceeding the majority threshold required to pass legislation without ruling party cooperation.
The People Power Party has stated it will continue boycotting standing committees unless the opposition halts its "legislative steamrolling," making half-functioning committee operations inevitable for the time being.
The committee had also held a subcommittee meeting the previous day but failed to review some scheduled bills as the two parties could not find common ground on plenary session timing. Bills slated for review included a special act promoting AI data centers, which has seen growing legislative demand amid expanding artificial intelligence adoption.