A bill to amend the Banking Act to bar banks from reflecting insurance premiums under the Depositor Protection Act and contributions to the Korea INclusive Finance Agency (KINFA), among others, when setting lending rates passed a plenary session of the National Assembly on the 13th.
The Democratic Party of Korea on the day ended the People Power Party's filibuster at the plenary session and, together with minor pro-government opposition parties, passed the bill. The core of the amendment is to prohibit adding insurance premiums and statutory contributions, among others, to lending rates. The Democratic Party said it pushed the bill after pointing out that banks violated the beneficiary-pays principle by tacking related expense onto interest rates.
Immediately after passage of the Banking Act amendment, a bill to amend the Act on the Performance of Duties by Police Officers was introduced at the plenary session. The amendment would allow police to directly stop or disperse those who launch leaflets to North Korea and the like. The People Power Party has linked this bill to an Aviation Safety Act amendment, calling it a "revival of the anti-leaflet law," and says it will also launch a filibuster on this item.
The People Power Party said it would continue filibusters on bills placed on the plenary agenda regardless of agreement, to block the Democratic Party's plan to pass judicial reform bills within the year. Accordingly, when the Banking Act amendment was brought up the previous day, it conducted a filibuster.