South Korean parties agree to pass 90 noncontroversial bills, revise filibuster rules

Rival parties agreed to pass 90 noncontroversial bills at a National Assembly plenary session on Jan. 29, and to also take up a revision to the National Assembly Act that would change rules for filibusters.

Cheon Jun-ho, the Democratic Party’s senior deputy floor leader for operations, and Yoo Sang-bum, the People Power Party’s counterpart, announced the agreement after meeting Tuesday at the National Assembly.

Cheon told reporters that of 175 bills on the plenary agenda, the parties agreed to prioritize urgent livelihood-related measures and pass 90. He added that the National Assembly Act revision “needs further discussion” and said he expected floor leaders to finalize it through additional talks.

Yoo said the People Power Party would withdraw filibusters it had requested so the agreed-upon bills could be processed.

The People Power Party has staged filibusters since late last year, calling Democratic Party-backed proposals — including a dedicated trial division for insurrection cases, a new crime of distorting the law, an increase in the number of Supreme Court justices and the introduction of a court-appeal system — “bad laws that destroy the judiciary.” The party and the minor Reform Party have also pressed the Democratic Party to accept “twin special prosecutors” probes into election nomination donations and the Unification Church.

The agreement indicates the People Power Party will cooperate on the livelihood bills by dropping filibusters, while the Democratic Party appears to have delayed action on more contentious measures. It came a day after President Lee Jae Myung said at a Cabinet meeting that the National Assembly was moving too slowly and urged faster action on legislation tied to state priorities.

The parties also agreed to handle the National Assembly Act revision at the Jan. 29 plenary session. People Power Party floor leader Song Eon-seok said after a separate meeting with Democratic Party floor leader Han Byung-do that they had agreed to pass it.

The Democratic Party-backed revision would allow the National Assembly speaker to halt a filibuster if fewer than one-fifth of lawmakers are present during the debate. It also includes changes aimed at easing the physical burden on the speaker’s office by loosening rules on delegating the chair’s presiding authority.