National Assembly to kick off April extraordinary session Monday
- 6 years ago
The National Assembly's April extraordinary session gets underway in the coming hours.
Lawmakers have their plates full as a number of key issues must be sorted out during the month long session.
Kim Min-ji has more.
The National Assembly starts with a clean slate on Monday as it kicks off a new parliamentary session for April.
Over the next 30 days -- rival parties have a stack of agenda items to work through.
First up is deliberating the government's supplementary budget worth some three-point-eight billion U.S. dollars that will be used to create jobs for young people as well as help boost regions hit by corporate restructuring.
The bill is expected to be submitted to the assembly on Friday -- and the Prime Minister will be giving a policy speech on the matter the following week.
A tug-of-war is expected as the conservative opposition have pointed out it's only been three months since the 2018 budget was passed -- and they say the extra funds would be used as a means to win the local elections.
Also on the agenda is an interpellation session... where lawmakers will grill top government officials on various topics, including foreign affairs, the economy and social issues over three days starting April 10th.
The National Assembly will also hold full floor sessions on April 19th and the 26th to vote on pending bills.
Another big priority is amending the Constitution.
The parties are in a race against time to reach parliamentary consensus and vote on the National Assembly's own proposal.
President Moon Jae-in, who is expected to address lawmakers on the issue sometime in April,... has already submitted his proposal.
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea wants a deal struck by no later than May fourth -- giving it just enough time to meet other legal procedures to hold a referendum in tandem with local elections on June 13th.
But the main opposition Liberty Korea Party says that is out of the question, saying it would politicize the issue.
While all of the agendas require the support from the opposition as the ruling party doesn't have a parliamentary majority -- there's another factor in play.
The liberal Party for Democracy and Peace and the progressive Justice Party have formed a joint negotiating body -- as the two parties' lawmakers combined give them 20 seats in the assembly.
They are the fourth largest bloc in the 293-member Assembly -- and are expected to give the ruling party a degree of backing due to their left-leaning tendencies.
While the four-party system is expected to provide a diversity of opinions -- it's going to be an unpredictable session as it's expected to create a two-against-two system.
Kim Min-ji, Arirang News.
Lawmakers have their plates full as a number of key issues must be sorted out during the month long session.
Kim Min-ji has more.
The National Assembly starts with a clean slate on Monday as it kicks off a new parliamentary session for April.
Over the next 30 days -- rival parties have a stack of agenda items to work through.
First up is deliberating the government's supplementary budget worth some three-point-eight billion U.S. dollars that will be used to create jobs for young people as well as help boost regions hit by corporate restructuring.
The bill is expected to be submitted to the assembly on Friday -- and the Prime Minister will be giving a policy speech on the matter the following week.
A tug-of-war is expected as the conservative opposition have pointed out it's only been three months since the 2018 budget was passed -- and they say the extra funds would be used as a means to win the local elections.
Also on the agenda is an interpellation session... where lawmakers will grill top government officials on various topics, including foreign affairs, the economy and social issues over three days starting April 10th.
The National Assembly will also hold full floor sessions on April 19th and the 26th to vote on pending bills.
Another big priority is amending the Constitution.
The parties are in a race against time to reach parliamentary consensus and vote on the National Assembly's own proposal.
President Moon Jae-in, who is expected to address lawmakers on the issue sometime in April,... has already submitted his proposal.
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea wants a deal struck by no later than May fourth -- giving it just enough time to meet other legal procedures to hold a referendum in tandem with local elections on June 13th.
But the main opposition Liberty Korea Party says that is out of the question, saying it would politicize the issue.
While all of the agendas require the support from the opposition as the ruling party doesn't have a parliamentary majority -- there's another factor in play.
The liberal Party for Democracy and Peace and the progressive Justice Party have formed a joint negotiating body -- as the two parties' lawmakers combined give them 20 seats in the assembly.
They are the fourth largest bloc in the 293-member Assembly -- and are expected to give the ruling party a degree of backing due to their left-leaning tendencies.
While the four-party system is expected to provide a diversity of opinions -- it's going to be an unpredictable session as it's expected to create a two-against-two system.
Kim Min-ji, Arirang News.