The Democratic Party of Korea is deliberating on the priority legislation to be processed at the July extraordinary National Assembly, including the second Commercial Act amendment and the so-called yellow envelope law (amendments to Articles 2 and 3 of the Act on the Adjustment of Labor Union and Labor Relations). The People Power Party has warned of a filibuster, so physically only one bill can be prioritized at the July extraordinary National Assembly. The Democratic Party plans to finalize the prioritized bill after gathering internal opinions, with the remainder to be completed in legislation at the August extraordinary National Assembly.
Kim Byeong-gi, acting party leader and floor leader of the Democratic Party, stated at the floor policy coordination meeting held at the National Assembly that "the Democratic Party will pass the broadcast normalization three laws, the Grain Management Act, the Agricultural and Fisheries Products Act, and the second Commercial Act amendment yellow envelope law at the plenary session on August 4 and 5."
He further noted, "It seems that the People Power Party intends to respond with a filibuster," and added, "The Democratic Party is determined to pass all the livelihood reform bills today, if not tomorrow, and if not tomorrow, then the day after. We will ensure achievements in the July National Assembly and will carry forward the livelihood reform legislation into the August National Assembly."
The bills the Democratic Party plans to introduce at the July extraordinary National Assembly are mainly those that were halted due to the exercise of veto power during the presidency of Yoon Suk-yeol.
Specifically, they are ▲ the second Commercial Act amendment, centered on the concentrated voting system and separate election of audit committee members ▲ the three broadcast laws changing the governance structure of public broadcasting ▲ an amendment to the Labor Union Act Articles 2 and 3 that expands the concept of 'employers' to mean 'primary contractors who have the power to substantially and concretely control and determine the working conditions of workers' and restricts claims for damages by employers in labor disputes ▲ the 'Grain Management Act' and the 'Agricultural and Fisheries Products Act,' focused on introducing price stabilization measures for rice and agricultural and fisheries products ▲ the 'Regional Love Gift Certificate Act,' which mandates national funding support for regional gift certificates ▲ the 'Local Educational Finance Grant-in-Aid Act,' which extends the national funding support for free high school education for three years ▲ and the 'Elementary and Secondary Education Act,' which changes the legal status of AI digital textbooks to educational materials.
However, as the July extraordinary National Assembly session ends on August 5, only one bill can be prioritized among these bills. This is because the People Power Party has announced a filibuster for each of the five bills, including the yellow envelope law and the Commercial Act amendment. While the Democratic Party can fulfill the requirements to forcibly terminate a filibuster with only its seats (more than two-thirds of present members), a forced termination can only occur after 24 hours from the start of the filibuster. The schedule for the plenary session set for the July extraordinary National Assembly is August 4 and 5.
The Democratic Party is expected to finalize the prioritized bill for the July extraordinary National Assembly at a general meeting of lawmakers on the 4th.
Moon Geum-joo, spokesperson for the Democratic Party, met with reporters after the meeting and noted, "Since the People Power Party has warned of a filibuster on five bills, there is a possibility that the bills to be processed during the July extraordinary National Assembly may be delayed in order of introduction," adding, "The order of introduction is a negotiation strategy by the leadership. The situation will vary depending on negotiations with the People Power Party. This will be explained at the general meeting held on Monday."