Thirty-one lawmakers from the ruling bloc, including the Democratic Party of Korea, the Rebuilding Korea Party, The Progressive Party, and The Social Democratic Party of Korea, proposed a bill to abolish the National Security Act. The People Power Party warned that if the National Security Act is abolished without a social consensus, public backlash will follow.
People Power Party Spokesperson Cho Yong-sul said in a commentary on the 7th, "The ruling bloc, ignoring the judgment of the public and the Constitutional Court, gave prior notice of legislation for a 'bill to abolish the National Security Act' on the 4th," adding, "On the National Assembly's legislative notice website, there are about 80,000 comments, and most oppose it."
Cho continued, "The Constitutional Court has maintained rulings of constitutionality since the 1990s on the grounds that North Korea's hostile strategy continues and similar laws exist in other countries," and asked, "What is the real reason the Lee Jae-myung administration and the ruling bloc are pushing to abolish the National Security Act?"
Cho also said, "In the past, President Lee Jae-myung, when serving as party leader, said, 'We must strive to ensure that the efforts of North Korean Chairs Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung are not disparaged,' and a civic group filed a complaint against him in Jan. 2024 on suspicion of violating the National Security Act," adding, "Recently, a former executive of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) received a finalized sentence of 9 years and 6 months in prison for espionage."
He added, "We must no longer turn a blind eye to the reality in which such reckless propaganda and agitation are spreading across society," and said, "National security is more important here than in any other country, and if abolition is forced without social consensus, strong backlash and blowback will follow."
Earlier, Democratic Party lawmaker Min Hyung-bae, Rebuilding Korea Party lawmaker Kim Jun-hyung, and The Progressive Party floor leader Yoon Jong-o jointly introduced a bill to abolish the National Security Act on the 2nd. The bill has been under prior legislative notice since the 4th. The bill lists 31 ruling-bloc lawmakers as sponsors, including 15 from the Democratic Party, 9 from the Rebuilding Korea Party, 4 from The Progressive Party, and 1 each from the Basic Income Party and The Social Democratic Party of Korea.
In their proposal explanation, the sponsors said, "The National Security Act has long faced criticism as an evil law that inherited the Public Order Maintenance Act of Imperial Japan at the time of its enactment and suppressed freedom of thought," adding, "As the Constitution stipulates peaceful unification and popular sovereignty, a range of opinions and debates on inter-Korean issues must be guaranteed."