On Mar. 31, Minister Jung Sung-ho paid courtesy calls on Han Byung-do, the new floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Seo Young-kyo, chairperson of the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee, asking them to conduct intensive reviews of the "seven livelihood and safety bills" during the April extraordinary session.
According to the Ministry of Justice on Apr. 1, the Minister met the previous afternoon at the National Assembly with the floor leader Han, the chairperson Seo, and Rep. Kim Yong-min, the ruling party secretary of the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee, to explain the "seven key livelihood and safety bills."
The seven bills requested by the Ministry of Justice are: ▲ enactment of the "Special Act on Excluding Statutes of Limitations for State Violence Crimes," which excludes civil and criminal statutes of limitations for state violence crimes ▲ amendment to the "Class Action Act," expanding class actions to provide relief to victims of small and numerous unlawful acts ▲ amendment to the "Act on the Recovery of Corrupt Property," requiring the state to return proceeds of illegal private financing crimes directly to victims ▲ enactment of the "Act on the Reversion of Pro-Japanese Property," reestablishing an investigative committee to recover pro-Japanese property ▲ amendment to the "Act on Regulation and Punishment of Criminal Proceeds Concealment," introducing an independent forfeiture system that allows confiscation of criminal proceeds without a conviction ▲ amendment to the "Electronic Device Attachment Act," strengthening electronic monitoring of high-risk sex offenders ▲ amendment to the "Stalking Punishment Act," reorganizing related legal frameworks to protect victims of dating violence.
Floor leader Han Byung-do said, "Institutional reforms to uphold judicial justice and to promote stability in people's livelihoods and public safety are urgent," adding, "We will work to deliver speedy legislative results."
New Legislation and Judiciary Committee chairperson Seo Young-kyo said, "We will make it our top priority to pass the seven bills pursued by the Ministry of Justice so that they can support the Lee Jae-myung administration."
Minister Jung Sung-ho said, "A number of bills related to the Lee Jae-myung administration's state agenda and urgent livelihood and safety issues, including the bill to exclude the statute of limitations for state violence, are pending in the National Assembly," adding, "I hope the ruling and opposition parties will reach an agreement so they can pass swiftly in the National Assembly without missing the legislative golden time."