Kim Byeong-ki, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, will present a bill as early as the 19th to align the terms of public institution heads with that of the president. The ruling party's floor leader is demonstrating a strong commitment to legislation. The Democratic Party plans to process the related bill within this year's regular National Assembly session.
According to sources in the political arena on the 19th, the floor leader Kim plans to introduce an amendment to the 'Act on the Operation of Public Institutions,' which focuses on aligning the terms of public institution heads with that of the president. During a floor strategy meeting held in the National Assembly that morning, he noted, "We will remove Yoon Suk-yeol's appointments to normalize public institutions," stating that he aims to pass the 'Public Institution Operation Act' amendment that was introduced by Representative Jeong Il-young last July in the current regular National Assembly session.
Currently, the terms for heads and auditors of public institutions are not linked to the presidential term. The presidential term is five years, while the term for public institution heads is three years. Therefore, controversies over the terms of appointees from the previous administration have been repeated every time the government changes. Since the 22nd National Assembly, related laws have also been introduced by Representatives Park Sang-hyuk last June and Jeong Il-young from the Democratic Party last July.
The so-called 'Anti-Appointment Law,' which had been under the radar for a while, has gained attention again due to Kim Hyoung-seok, the director of the Independence Hall. Director Kim recently stated, "If we look at our country's liberation from a historical perspective, it is a gift we received from the victory of the Allies in World War II," which has drawn intense criticism from the ruling party. The ruling party is urging for Kim's dismissal, arguing that he belittled the anti-Japanese independence movement.
In particular, Floor Leader Kim is firmly demanding Kim's dismissal. Despite existing bills that have been proposed, it seems that Floor Leader Kim's direct engagement in introducing a bill is due to the same reason. An official from Floor Leader Kim's side stated, "The floor leader is expected to present the relevant amendment bill sometime today or tomorrow."
Floor Leader Kim remarked that "Yoon Suk-yeol and Kim Keon-hee have occupied major public institutions with parachute appointments like Kim Hyoung-seok throughout their terms. Even after the declaration of martial law, parachute appointments did not cease, even after the president was dismissed," adding that "if it does not align with the government's national policy and framework, it will not comply with the era's spirit of completely terminating internal strife." According to the Democratic Party, there have been 45 public institution heads appointed since the recent martial law declaration, of which 23 were appointed after the dismissal.
The Democratic Party plans to designate the amendment to the Public Institution Operating Act as a fast track (expedited processing issue). This is intended to preemptively block any potential delays in the legislative process. The Public Institution Operating Act falls under the jurisdiction of the Strategy and Finance Committee, chaired by Im I-ja, a member of the People Power Party. If the bill is designated as a fast track, it will be submitted to the plenary session after going through the relevant standing committee for 180 days and the Legislation and Judiciary Committee for 90 days, even if the committee chair opposes it.