Nat'l Assembly passes bill to speed up review of fast-track bills

The National Assembly in South Korea approved a bill on Thursday that aims to slash the review time for fast-track bills to a maximum of 90 days, down from the current 330-day limit. The revised National Assembly Act was approved by a vote of 153-81 during a plenary session, despite opposition from the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), who claimed the ruling party was rushing the legislation without adequate debate.

If the bill becomes law, fast-track bills would undergo a 60-day review by a standing committee, followed by a 30-day review by the legislation and judiciary committee. Currently, fast-track bills can take up to 330 days to reach a plenary vote, with up to 180 days in a standing committee and another 90 days in the legislation and judiciary committee.

Once the bill clears the judiciary committee, it must be proposed at the first parliamentary plenary session after committee approval. Under the revised act, a fast-track bill can be proposed by the legislative body even without bipartisan support, provided it receives approval from at least three-fifths of lawmakers. Additionally, the Assembly voted to recommend three candidates for the position of special inspector general, responsible for investigating corruption allegations involving the president's family.

The president is now obligated to appoint one of the parliament-recommended candidates. The inspector general role was created in 2014 under President Park Geun-hye but remained unfilled since 2016.