The Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly introduced a bill to strengthen shareholder loyalty obligations and other related matters on the 1st, led by the Democratic Party of Korea, and sent it to the bill review subcommittee.
The bill on commercial law passed the National Assembly earlier under the leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea but was discarded due to former President Yoon Suk-yeol's exercise of his right to request reconsideration (veto), and is now being re-pursued following the launch of the Lee Jae-myung administration.
On this day, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee also introduced bills on the Prosecutors' Office Act and the Criminal Procedure Act, which include the separation of investigative and prosecutorial powers, and sent them to the bill subcommittee.
The Democratic Party of Korea plans to pass the bill on commercial law at the plenary session on the 3rd after it goes through the bill review subcommittee on the 2nd.
In particular, the issue of limiting the voting rights of the largest shareholders and related parties’ combined equity to 3%, known as the "3% rule," is a major concern for industry, but it is said that adjustments can be made in the bill subcommittee. However, even if no agreement is reached between the ruling and opposition parties, the bill itself is set to be processed at the plenary session on the 4th at the latest, with plans to continue making improvements afterward.
The People Power Party has expressed its intention to withdraw its opposition to the commercial law revision and will consider it positively, but claims that discussions on alternatives to alleviate corporate concerns are necessary.
Representative Jang Dong-hyuk, the opposition party's floor leader, noted, "While I agree on the necessity of revising commercial law, it should be done through other means like the Capital Markets Act, or if amended, it must be supplemented," and emphasized, "Given the significant impact, we need to minimize problems in this revision."
On this day, the ruling and opposition parties clashed over prosecutorial and judicial reforms. Lee Chun-seok, the chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee (Democratic Party), stated, "The judicial system has collapsed," and pointed out, "Because investigative agencies are failing to fulfill their roles, three special prosecutors are operating." He continued, "It is abnormal that the people's right to trial is being infringed due to a shortage of justices, and the Legislation and Judiciary Committee has the mission to normalize the judicial system now."
Kim Yong-min, the Democratic Party's floor leader, remarked, "The president controls prosecutor appointments, and the prosecution holds both investigative and prosecutorial powers, prosecuting those they dislike while favoring our side, which was done by the Yoon Suk-yeol administration," adding, "The best means to relinquish vested interests is the separation of investigative and prosecutorial powers. I don't understand why the opposition is against relinquishing vested interests."
In response, People Power Party member Park Jun-tae criticized, "The Lee Jae-myung administration intends to dismantle the prosecutor's office and create a law enforcement agency that caters to the ruling party’s preferences," claiming it is an attempt to undermine examinations of the government.
Regarding major issues such as increasing the number of justices and restructuring investigative agencies, People Power Party member Kwak Gyu-taek stated, "We need to create a special committee at the National Assembly level to discuss this in depth."
Debates also continued over the president's privilege of immunity and prosecutor appointments. Democratic Party member Jeon Hyun-hee remarked, "It's a consensus that a sitting president's criminal trial is suspended," while People Power Party member Joo Jin-woo rebutted, "The notion that a president's trial stops once they take office violates the principle of equality and has no precedent or case law."