Han Byung-do, acting leader and floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, described the second half of the 22nd National Assembly as "a turning point that will decide the future of the Republic of Korea," and said the party would complete major legislation supporting the Lee Jae-myung government's policy agenda by the end of this year.
"Today's workshop will be an occasion for the party, the government and the presidential office to unite, reflect on the responsibility of the ruling party, and pledge to complete livelihood-related legislation without setbacks," Han said Wednesday at the "Democratic Party Lawmakers' Workshop for the Second-Half 22nd National Assembly," held at the Dragon City Hotel in Yongsan District, Seoul. The event was attended by Democratic Party lawmakers, Prime Minister Han Seong-sook, Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik, Presidential Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Hong Ihk-pyo, Presidential Secretary for Political Affairs Jung Eul-ho, and some cabinet members. Contenders for the party's next leadership, including former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, former party leader Jung Chung-rae, and Rep. Song Young-gil, also gathered together.
"The second-half Assembly will be one that produces results in proportion to how tirelessly it runs and works," Han said. "Above all, the Democratic Party will ensure that legislation for the Lee Jae-myung government's major policy agenda is completed by the end of this year."
"We will fulfill the Assembly's responsibilities, from the locally-driven growth and balanced national development we promised the people, to the three mega projects, the recovery of the livelihood economy, support for small business owners, and fostering artificial intelligence (AI) as a future industry," he said. "Properly supporting the core policy agenda of the Lee Jae-myung government chosen by the people is the most important duty the second-half Assembly must carry out."
Han said he would reform the filibuster (unlimited debate) system and the fast-track (expedited processing of bills) system to enable swift legislation. "We will surely reform the meaningless filibuster and the useless fast-track system so that there are no stoppages in legislative activity," he said. "There are concerns that government ministries whose standing committees are chaired by the opposition cannot swiftly process policy-agenda legislation, but we will reform this and firmly provide support."
Toward the People Power Party, he urged cooperation in electing the seven standing committee chairs that remain vacant. "The Working National Assembly Act was created in December 2020 to prevent repeated Assembly dysfunction and backlogs of bills," Han said. "That was because even then, negotiations over Assembly organization dragged on for a long time, standing committees failed to operate properly, and the Assembly repeatedly ground to a halt due to People Power Party boycotts."
"It is truly deplorable that the same situation is being repeated now, six years later," he added. "If the People Power Party truly fears the people and feels even a shred of responsibility as lawmakers, I urge them to cooperate in electing the remaining seven standing committee chairs."
