The December extraordinary session of the National Assembly has fully entered a "filibuster political landscape." After the Democratic Party of Korea signaled it would push through contentious bills, including a bill to establish a court division dedicated to insurrection cases, the People Power Party responded with a filibuster (unlimited debate), saying it would "block the eight evil laws," freezing the political scene again.
The ruling and opposition parties agreed to pass only three government guarantee consent items—Korea Student Aid Foundation bonds, supply chain stabilization fund bonds, and advanced strategic industry fund bonds—out of 62 non-contentious livelihood bills introduced at the National Assembly's plenary session that day. Floor leaders from both parties attempted to negotiate the agenda before the session but failed.
The remaining 59 livelihood bills all became subject to a filibuster. The People Power Party has labeled the contentious bills being pushed by the Democratic Party as the "eight evil laws," and its position is that unless the Democratic Party withdraws its plan to pass them within the year, it will "filibuster even non-contentious bills across the board."
The "eight evil laws" as defined by the People Power Party include: ▲ a bill to establish a court division dedicated to insurrection cases ▲ a bill to create the crime of judicial distortion ▲ a bill to increase the number of Supreme Court justices ▲ introduction of a constitutional complaint for trials, and other judicial reform measures such as ▲ expanding the investigative jurisdiction of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, as well as ▲ a bill regulating party banners ▲ punitive damages for false or manipulated information ▲ a bill restricting filibusters.
The first filibuster bill of the December session is an amendment to the Franchise Business Act that the Democratic Party put on the fast track (expedited agenda) in April. The bill aims to improve unfair trading practices by strengthening the registration and bargaining rights of franchisee organizations. Once the bill was introduced, the People Power Party immediately requested a filibuster, and Na Kyung-won of the People Power Party took the floor as the first speaker.
Na said, "I support the Franchise Business Act," but added, "Because the Democratic Party is brazenly sitting on the legislature to ram through the eight evil laws, I am starting a filibuster to demand the withdrawal of the eight evil laws."
However, the filibuster will automatically end at midnight, when the regular session concludes that day. A vote on the Franchise Business Act amendment is scheduled to take place at the plenary session on the 11th.
The Democratic Party criticized the People Power Party for abusing the filibuster and holding livelihood bills hostage. Party leader Jung Chung-rae said in the National Assembly's rotunda, "The People Power Party is absurdly threatening a filibuster on livelihood bills," and added, "Even now, come to your senses and cooperate on livelihood bills."
With the parties locked in an extreme standoff, a first round of filibusters is expected from the 9th to the 14th, followed by a second round from the 21st to the 24th. Because National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik will be on an overseas trip from the 15th to the 20th, the parties set the end of the first filibuster for the 14th.
The Democratic Party plans to first introduce three contentious bills during the first filibuster period after the vote on the Franchise Business Act amendment. Floor spokesperson Moon Geum-ju said, "From the 11th to the 14th, we will put forward three contentious bills we want and, even if (the People Power Party) filibusters, our strategy is to make sure they pass."
Although it did not disclose which bills will be handled first, the Criminal Procedure Act, which includes public disclosure of lower court verdicts, and the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, which would introduce punitive damages of up to five times for spreading false or manipulated information, are likely to be introduced. The second-round filibuster targets under discussion include the bill to establish a court division dedicated to insurrection cases, the judicial distortion crime, and a bill to increase the number of Supreme Court justices.
The ruling and opposition parties also plan to wage a public opinion battle in and outside the National Assembly. To block the "eight evil laws," the People Power Party will begin a tent sit-in inside the National Assembly, and its 253 district party committees will start putting up banners and staging one-person protests from the 10th. The Democratic Party will mount a counter-response. Floor leader Kim Byung-kee said, "As of this hour, we will launch emergency action to normalize the National Assembly and complete livelihood reforms."