A bill to ease the compensation and support criteria for victims of COVID-19 vaccinations passed the National Assembly's plenary session on the 2nd.
The COVID-19 vaccine compensation law (Special Act on Compensation for Damage from COVID-19 Vaccination, etc.) put to a vote in the afternoon plenary session was passed with 263 votes in favor and 2 abstentions out of 265 members present.
The special law states that there is a temporal correlation between COVID-19 vaccinations and the occurrence of diseases and deaths, and presumes causality if the disease is not caused by other factors, allowing for compensation and support for victims. Concerns were raised that compensation had not been properly provided due to the extremely limited recognition of causality regarding vaccine injuries, leading to a legal amendment to ease the criteria for victims receiving compensation and support.
The special law is also a 'top priority' pledge of President Yoon Suk-yeol and a promise made by Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party, during the last presidential election. Therefore, starting in April 2022, shortly after the presidential election, both parties in the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee worked together. They merged the proposals put forward by People's Power lawmaker Kim Mi-ae and Democratic Party lawmakers Kang Sun-woo, Kim Nam-hee, and Kim Yoon into one, which was agreed upon and processed by both parties in January. However, by the judgment of the chairperson of the legislative committee that a systematic and textual review was necessary, it was referred to the subcommittee of the legislative committee, and after some concerns were addressed, it was processed in the plenary session. The special law will take effect six months after its promulgation.
Kim Mi-ae, a lawmaker from People's Power and the ruling party's secretary in the Welfare Committee, said before the vote on the bill, "The overcoming of the COVID-19 crisis was made possible by the trust and cooperation of the people, who believed in the government's quarantine policies, including prompt vaccination. However, in the process, some people suffered from vaccine side effects, leading to deaths or disabilities, and there are still victims and bereaved families who are living in pain, unable to return to their daily lives. The National Assembly has a duty to protect them more robustly than any other country, and the special law is a minimum obligation and responsibility to the people."
She added, "Considering the pain that victims have suffered until now, I feel deeply sorry that it is still insufficient and too late, but I ask them to overcome their pain and return to their daily lives."
On this day, officials from the Families Council of COVID-19 Vaccine Victims observed the plenary session and watched the passage of the bill. National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik told them, "I hope that the problems that have not been resolved so far will be well addressed with the passage of this bill, and the National Assembly will do its utmost to ensure that victims are properly compensated in the process."