The six contentious bills on which Acting President and Prime Minister Han Deok-soo exercised the veto (reconsideration request) are expected to be returned to the National Assembly on the 19th. While there is speculation that the Democratic Party of Korea may push to reintroduce them, it is observed that the party is unlikely to secure the seats needed for enactment in a vote.
According to government ministries on the 19th, bills passed by the National Assembly's plenary session are sent to the government. The government then convenes a Cabinet meeting to decide whether to promulgate each bill or request reconsideration.
If reconsideration is requested, the relevant Cabinet Commissioner recommends a 'reconsideration request' to the Chairperson of the Cabinet meeting. Although the president is the Chairperson, Prime Minister Han Deok-soo is currently carrying out the duties due to the National Assembly's resolution of the impeachment motion.
Bills for which the reconsideration request is proposed are reviewed in the Cabinet meeting. After the review, the Chairperson checks whether there is any Cabinet Commissioner with dissenting opinions on the reconsideration. If there are no objections, it is considered that the reconsideration request has been approved.
After the Cabinet meeting, the reconsideration request for the bill is submitted electronically to the Chairperson of the Cabinet meeting. Once the Chairperson signs electronically, the reconsideration request is sent to the Korea Legislation Research Institute, which then takes it to the National Assembly to submit the agenda.
For a bill on which the government has requested reconsideration to become law, it must be passed with the attendance of a majority of registered lawmakers and at least two-thirds approval of attending lawmakers in the National Assembly's plenary session. Currently, the Democratic Party of Korea holds 175 seats in the National Assembly. If combined with the Progressive Alignment Party, Progressive Party, and New Future, this totals 189 seats. This falls short of the 200 seats needed if 300 members attend the plenary session. Within the Democratic Party, there are lawmakers with concerns about bills such as the Grain Law, so not all might agree.
If the bill is rejected or not decided again by the end of the parliamentary session, it will be discarded.