Parliamentary Panel Approves Faster Fast-Track Processing
A subcommittee of South Korea's National Assembly House Steering Committee has passed a bill aimed at significantly shortening the deliberation period for bills designated for fast-track processing. The proposed revision to the National Assembly Act would reduce the maximum time a fast-track bill can spend in committee review from 330 days to approximately 90 days.
Under the current rules, a measure designated as a fast-track bill can take up to 330 days to reach a plenary vote, including up to 180 days in a standing committee and another 90 days in the legislation and judiciary committee. If the committee fails to act within that timeframe, the bill is automatically put to a vote in a plenary session within 60 days.
The revision, approved by the subcommittee, would shorten the review period to 90 days, including 60 days in a standing committee and 30 days in the legislation and judiciary committee. It would also require a fast-tracked bill that clears the legislation and judiciary committee to be tabled at the first parliamentary plenary session held after approval by the committee.
The vote saw ruling and minor party members endorse the measure, while members of the main opposition People Power Party boycotted the vote. Rep. Cheon Jun-ho of the ruling Democratic Party, who chairs the subcommittee, said after the vote, "We decided that it was necessary to process the bill in line with the purpose and name of the (fast-track) system."
A bill can be designated as a fast-track proposal with the approval of at least three-fifths of lawmakers, allowing it to pass even without bipartisan agreement to prevent it from remaining pending in parliament for too long.