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> Voting Took Place After Filibuster Ended Involuntarily, Filibuster Started After Communications and Media Commission Establishment Act Submitted
The amendment bill for the Government Organization Act, led by the Democratic Party of Korea, was passed by the National Assembly on the 26th. The bill reorganizes the government structure according to the Lee Jaemyeong administration’s governing philosophies, which include abolishing the prosecution service and separating the Ministry of Economy and Finance into different bodies.
Following the bill’s passage, the Prosecution Service(검찰청) will shut down operations in September of the following year, 78 years after its establishment, and the Service’s roles of investigation and conviction will be passed onto the Felony Investigation Agency(중대범죄수사청) and the Indictment Services(공소청), respectively. (Note: There’s a possibility that the English name for ‘공소청’ will remain as the Prosecution Services. Details to come later.)
On this day, the National Assembly approved the GOA’s amendment bill with 174 votes for, 1 vote against, and 5 abstentions from 180 present members.
Lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea voted for the bill, while the opposition People’s Power Party did not participate in the vote.
From the minor non-ruling parties, Rebuilding Korea Party’s Sin Jangsik, Cha Gyugeun, and Baek Seonhui abstained from their votes, and Cheon Haram of the Reform Party voted against the bill.
The amendment bill includes bills for shutting down the Prosecution Service, and instead establishing the Felony Investigation Agency and the Indictment Services in order to separate the investigative and convictive authority of the prosecution.
The FIA will be subordinate to the Minister of the Interior and Safety, and the IS to the Minister of Justice.
There will be a grace period of one year to shut down the prosecution service and create the FIA and the IS. As such, the prosecution service will close its doors in September of the following year, 78 years after its formation.
The amendment also included bills for separating the Ministry of Economy and Finance(기획재정부) into the Ministry of Finance and Economy (재정경제부) and the Ministry of Planning and Budget(기획예산처), and for transferring the current MOEF’s budget planning authority to MOPB under the Prime Minister’s Office. These procedures will take place from January 2nd of the following year. As a result of the bill’s passage, the MOEF, which was created from the merger of the MOFE and the MOPB in 2008, will also close its doors after 16 years of service.
This bill did not include content related to the reform of the Financial Services Commission, which the DPK had been advocating. The domestic financial policy functions of the FSC, which were to be transferred to the MOEF under DPK’s plans, will instead continue to be carried out by the commission. The Financial Supervisory Service will also maintain its current system without any reforms.
Other contents of the bill include the demolition of the Korea Communications Commission (방송통신위원회) and instead establishing the Korea Media and Communications Commission (방송미디어통신위원회).
The Ministry of the Environment(환경부) will be reformed as the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment(기후에너지환경부), and all energy-related operations, excluding the export of nuclear energy, will be transferred from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy over to the MOCEE. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (산업통상자원부) will also subsequently change its name to the Ministry of Trade and Industry (산업통상부).
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (여성가족부) will be renamed, (as 성평등가족부), and Statistics Korea(통계청) and the Korean Intellectual Property Office(특허청) will be promoted to the Ministry of National Data(국가데이터처) and the Ministry of Intellectual Propoerties(지식재산처), both subordinate to the Prime Minister’s Office.
The role of the Social Deputy Prime Minister, held by the Minister of Education, will be relieved. Instead, the role of Deputy Prime Minister will be held by the Minister of Finance and Economy and the Minister of Science, Technology and Communications.
While the amendment bill was submitted to the main assembly the day prior, the submission was promptly followed up by a fillibuster from the People’s Power Party.
Park Sumin of the PPP performed the opposing filibuster. His speech lasted for around 17 hours and 12 minutes, setting a new longest filibuster record. From the DPK, Seo Yeonggyo came up to make a speech of advocation for 6 hours and 44 minutes.
While the PPP strongly criticized the bill, arguing that the reform was designed in haste without proper discussion, the DPK countered by stating that the bill must be passed in order to build a new base for the new administration’s governance, and to complete prosecution reforms.
The DPK submitted a proposal to terminate the filibusters, and the vote for the proposal was held at around 6:30PM this day, more than 24 hours after the start of the filibuster.
According to the National Assembly Act, when a filibuster termination proposal is submitted with the approval of more than one-thirds of the current enlisted members of the assembly, the filibuster is terminated with the approval of more than three-fifths of present members if 24 hours pass since the termination proposal’s approval.
Head Spokesperson of the DPK Park Suhyeon met with reporters after the amendment bill’s passage on this day. “The Democratic Party and Jeong Cheongnae kept their promises to announce the shutdown of the Prosecution Service for the road trip back home during Chuseok,” he said. “This bill was made possible thanks to the countrymen’s desire for prosecution reform and president Lee Jaemyeong’s strong delibrations for reformations”.
After the GOA’s amendment bill was passed, the National Assembly submitted the bill for the ‘Act on the Establishment and Operations of the Korea Media and Communications Commision”, which aims to reform the current KCC to the KMCC.
The PPP started their filibusters after the submission of the KMCC Establishment Act, sending out delegation of the opposition party to the Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee Choi Hyeongdu as the first speaker.
The DPK followed the same actions as the previous day, demanding that the Assembly Chairperson end discussions.
The KMCC Establishment act is therefore scheduled to undergo votes for the filibuster termination proposal and then the bill itself after 7:04PM the following day.
The bill details regulations for roles and operation procedures of the new KMCC. It states that the committee will be comprised of seven members, one chairperson, vice chairperson and standing member each, and four non-standing members. The president is to select two members of the committee, including the chair, while the ruling and the opposition party is to select two and three members of the committee respectively. As a result, the turf size within the committee is to change from the current three-to-two distribution, ruling party leading, within the current KCC to four-to-three in the new KMCC.
If this bill passes, chairperson of the KCC Lee Jinsook, who was appointed by the previous Yoon Seokyeol administration and has been embroiled in conflicts against the current administration and the ruling party, is to be removed from office. The PPP has pointed out this characteristic of the new act and make objections to the bill, arguing that the act is an ad hominem legislation aimed at removing Lee Jinsook from power.
The act also includes proposals for reforming the Korea Communications Standards Commission as the Korea Media and Communications Standards Commission, and making impeachment of this commission’s chairperson possible.
The DPK aims to deal with the current queue of bills, including the amendment of the National Assembly Act, and the Act on Testimony, Appraisal, etc. before the National Assembly, under a swift ‘salami tactic’. However, the PPP has requested filibusters for these acts as well, meaning that the current feud of debates will likely last until the 29th.
submitted by /u/Fermion96
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