The rival parties clashed bitterly over The National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee (Legislation and Judiciary Committee) during the process of forming the latter half of the 22nd National Assembly. The Democratic Party of Korea, the majority party, took the committee, but every time the Assembly is organized, confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties over the committee intensifies.
In political circles, some said the distribution of standing committees was delayed because the two major parties engaged in a show of force over the committee that acts like an upper house with its powerful authority. There are even calls to separate the committee's legislative function from its review of consistency and wording.
According to the National Assembly's bill information system on the 2nd, Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Nam-geun and People Power Party lawmaker Shin Dong-wook each proposed amendments to the National Assembly Act to split the committee by function. Kim proposed the bill in Mar., and Shin proposed it in Jun. 2024. Both lawmakers' bills center on separating the committee's authority to review consistency and wording.
The review of consistency and wording refers to the process of checking whether a bill that has passed a standing committee conflicts with the legal system and whether terms are accurate and consistent. However, the committee has exercised influence beyond the scope of such review by changing bill content or holding bills for a long time. In Korea's unicameral National Assembly, criticism has steadily been raised that the committee serves as an upper house.
Kim Nam-geun's amendment proposed separating the authority to review consistency and wording from the committee and creating a new "consistency and wording review committee." The review period would be 30 days and could be extended to 60 days by agreement between the ruling and opposition party floor secretaries. Kim explained the reason for the proposal, saying the committee has effectively played the role of the upper house in a bicameral system, creating an unconstitutional situation that violates the Constitution, which prescribes a unicameral National Assembly.
Shin Dong-wook proposed splitting the committee into a "Legislation Committee" and a "Judiciary Committee." The Legislation Committee would handle reviews of consistency and wording, while the Judiciary Committee would be responsible for legislation related to the courts and the Ministry of Justice. The "plan to separate the Legislation and Judiciary committees" was introduced as one of the "three major political reforms" by National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo during the 21st National Assembly, but it was not discussed and eventually was scrapped.
It is uncommon in other countries for a standing committee to review consistency and wording. In the United States, the Congressional Office of the Legislative Counsel conducts such reviews, and in Japan's National Diet, the Cabinet Legislation Bureau performs this role. Korea's National Assembly also has a Legislative Counsel Office, but its main task is to review bills before they are introduced, and it does not take part in the committee's review of consistency and wording.
Unless the committee relinquishes its authority to review consistency and wording, delays in forming the Assembly due to confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties are expected to continue. An official at the National Assembly Secretariat said, "Every time we form the Assembly, the ruling and opposition parties engage in a war of nerves over the committee, disrupting the operation of the National Assembly," adding, "Given the ongoing discussion on separating the committee, it is really worth implementing now."