The amendment to the National Assembly Testimony and Appraisal Act passed the plenary session on the 29th under the leadership of the ruling party. The bill allows an accusation for "perjury" if a majority of Commissioners in a committee "sign," even when the committee Chairperson refuses to file the accusation.
The National Assembly held a plenary session this evening and passed the amendment to the Act on Testimony and Appraisal in the National Assembly (Testimony and Appraisal Act) with 175 in favor and one abstention out of 176 members present. The People Power Party, which opposed the amendment, did not take part in the vote.
With the passage of the bill on this day, the ruling and opposition parties ended their confrontation over contentious bills and a filibuster that had continued for four nights and five days since the 25th. Earlier, the two parties began a filibuster (a lawful obstruction of proceedings integrating unlimited debate) on the evening of the 25th over the bill.
At 8:45 p.m. on this day, after 24 hours of filibuster had elapsed, the Democratic Party forced an end to the debate, introduced the revised amendment, and moved to a vote.
The amendment passed at the plenary session allows an accusation to be filed through a joint signature (countersignature) by a majority of the Commissioners on the committee when the National Assembly Chairperson refuses or avoids filing the accusation. When the committee responsible for filing an accusation is unclear because the committee's activity period has ended, the accusation may be filed in the name of the National Assembly speaker at the plenary session.
In addition, once a perjury accusation is received, investigative bodies such as prosecutors of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), prosecutors, and judicial police officers must conclude the investigation within two months. The results must be reported without delay to the plenary session or the committee. If the investigative body cannot complete the investigation within two months for special reasons, the head of the investigative body may submit an interim report to the plenary session or the committee and request an extension of the investigation period.
The National Assembly speaker or the Chairperson may approve this and extend the investigation period by up to two months.
The bill that passed the plenary session on this day was originally introduced by the Democratic Party, but it was revised twice from the amendment that cleared the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. In the version that passed the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, the subject responsible for perjury accusations by committees whose activity period had ended was defined as the "National Assembly speaker," but just before it was introduced to the plenary session the previous day, it was changed to the "Legislation and Judiciary Committee Chairperson." It then reverted to the "National Assembly speaker" ahead of the plenary vote on this day. The supplementary provision on "retroactive application" included in the first amendment was deleted in both the first and second revisions in consideration of constitutional concerns.
Meanwhile, there are four contentious bills placed on the plenary agenda under the leadership of the Democratic Party. In addition to the amendment to the Testimony and Appraisal Act passed on this day, they include an amendment to the Government Organization Act centered on abolishing the prosecution service, a bill to establish the Broadcasting Media and Communications Committee, and an amendment to the National Assembly Act that adjusts the names and jurisdictions of standing committees in line with the government reorganization. The People Power Party, which opposes these bills, staged a filibuster each time, and the Democratic Party also engaged in opposition debates, resulting in four nights and five days just to process them at the plenary session.