2024-01-30 01:19:44
Prime Minister Han Deok-soo is striking the gavel at a cabinet meeting held at the Seoul Government Complex on the 30th. At the Cabinet meeting on this day, a motion was passed for President Yoon Seok-yeol to exercise his right to reconsider (veto) the ‘Special Bill to Guarantee the Rights of Victims of the October 29 Itaewon Disaster, Find the Truth, and Prevent Recurrence’ (the so-called ‘Itaewon Disaster Special Act’). /News 1
The government held a cabinet meeting presided over by Prime Minister Han Deok-soo at the Seoul Government Complex on the 30th at 10 am and decided on a motion for President Yoon Seok-yeol to exercise his right to reconsider (veto) the ‘Itaewon Disaster Special Act’. If President Yoon approves this, the government will send the Itaewon Disaster Special Act back to the National Assembly and request a re-enactment using the presidential authority under the Constitution.
The bill to enact the Special Act on the Itaewon Disaster is a bill that aims to establish a special investigation committee to punish those responsible for the stampede accident that occurred in the Itaewon area in Yongsan-gu, Seoul on October 29, 2022, the weekend before Halloween. It was introduced at the plenary session of the National Assembly on the 9th. It was passed under the leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea. The People Power Party did not participate in the vote, saying, “The composition of the special committee cannot guarantee fairness, and there are concerns about repeat, third, and planned investigations,” and recommended President Yoon to exercise his veto on the 18th.
Prime Minister Han said in his plenary remarks at the Cabinet meeting, “In order to clearly determine the cause of the accident, the government conducted a special investigation with over 500 people in the police and disclosed the results transparently, and the prosecution also conducted a supplementary investigation. He also faithfully participated in the investigation by the National Assembly Special Committee on State Affairs Investigation.” “Through this, the cause of the disaster and problems in the response, rescue, and recovery process were revealed, and judicial proceedings against those responsible are currently underway,” he said.
Regarding the bill, Prime Minister Han said, “We cannot help but think deeply about what it means to the victims, their bereaved families, and our people to establish a separate special committee for additional investigation without a clear basis as to what problems there are with the results of the investigation by the prosecutors and police.” He said, “There is a risk that it will waste national administrative power and financial resources without justification or benefit, and will only deepen division and distrust among the people.” Prime Minister Han also said, “According to the bill, the special committee can exercise strong powers such as ordering accompanying people and requesting search and seizure, which not only undermines the constitutional principle of warrantism, but also has the potential to excessively infringe on the people’s basic rights in the process.” “It’s big,” he said. He also said, “There are significant concerns that fairness and neutrality will be undermined in the process of appointing the 11 members who make up the committee.” At the same time, he said, “The pain caused by the disaster cannot be used as a means to justify political strife or the possibility of unconstitutionality.”
Prime Minister Han said, “If a special law is enacted that can truly heal the wounds of the bereaved families, victims, and our society and contribute to preventing recurrence, the government will also actively accept it.” He added, “The ruling and opposition parties will once again address the problematic provisions of the special bill.” “I ask for a thorough discussion.” For the victims and their bereaved families, he said, “We will expand financial and psychological support so that they can quickly return to their daily lives, while also actively promoting the creation of a space where they can honor and fully commemorate their unfortunate sacrifices.”
The National Assembly can vote on the Itaewon Disaster Special Act again in the plenary session. The timing of voting is determined by the Speaker of the National Assembly. In a vote, if the Itaewon Disaster Special Act is passed with the approval of more than two-thirds of the members present and a majority of the registered members present, the President cannot veto the bill again and must promulgate it as law. If rejected, the bill is scrapped. Even if the Speaker of the National Assembly does not submit the bill to a vote again by the end of May, when the term of office of the 21st National Assembly ends, the bill is automatically repealed.
The so-called ‘dual special prosecution’ bills, such as the ‘First Lady Kim Kun-hee Special Prosecutor Act’ and the ‘Daejang-dong 5 billion Club Special Prosecutor Act’, which President Yoon first vetoed on the 5th, are also returning to the National Assembly. In the political world, there is speculation that the Democratic Party will try to remind voters that President Yoon has rejected these bills one by one by putting the twin special prosecutors’ bills and the Itaewon disaster special bill up for vote at the same time as the general election in April is imminent.
President Yoon has so far passed 8 bills, including the Grain Management Act amendment, the Nursing Act, the Labor Union Act amendment (the so-called ‘Yellow Envelope Act’), the Korea Educational Broadcasting Corporation Act, the Broadcasting Act, the Broadcasting Culture Promotion Association Act (the so-called ‘3 Broadcasting Acts’), and the twin special prosecutors’ bill. He exercised his veto on 100 bills, and among them, 6 bills excluding the twin special prosecutors bill were rejected in a re-election and were discarded. The ruling party, the People Power Party, has 113 seats, more than one-third of the 298 seats, so in order for the twin special prosecutors’ bill and the Itaewon disaster special law to be passed again, a vote away from the People Power Party is required.
The following is Prime Minister Han’s full text of related remarks.
Prime Minister Han Deok-soo It has been one year and three months since the Itaewon disaster occurred. The sadness of that day when young people who had not even bloomed yet died in an unexpected tragedy still remains in our hearts as a deep shock and pain. We pray for the peace of those who died in the Itaewon disaster, and offer our deepest condolences to the bereaved families and victims who are still suffering.
The government is deeply aware of the pain and wounds that the Itaewon disaster left on our society. Immediately after the Itaewon disaster, the government promised the public that it would do everything in its power to resolve the accident and take follow-up measures to prevent such a tragedy from happening again. And over the past year, we have worked tirelessly on all fronts to keep this promise.
To clearly determine the cause of the accident, the police conducted a special investigation with over 500 people and disclosed the results transparently, and the prosecution also conducted a supplementary investigation. The government also faithfully participated in the investigation by the National Assembly Special Committee on Government Affairs. Through this, the cause of the disaster and problems in the response, rescue, and recovery process were revealed, and judicial proceedings against those responsible are currently underway.
In this situation, the ‘Itaewon Disaster Special Bill’ was passed by the opposition party alone on January 9 and transferred to the government.
The key to the special bill is to establish a special investigation committee to conduct additional investigations to uncover the truth about the Itaewon disaster. However, we cannot help but ponder deeply about what meaning the establishment of a separate special investigation committee for additional investigation without a clear basis as to what problems there are with the results of the investigation by the prosecution and police will mean to the victims, their families, and our people. There is a risk that it will waste national administrative power and financial resources without justification or benefit, and will only deepen division and distrust among the people.
Nevertheless, if a special investigation committee is to operate, it must, like all laws, be consistent with the constitutional order. Fairness and neutrality commensurate with the enormous authority, such as investigation to uncover the truth, must also be guaranteed. However, there is a problem in that the special investigation committee included in this bill does not guarantee its authority and composition.
Under this bill, the Special Investigation Committee can exercise powerful powers such as ordering accompanying persons and requesting search and seizure. This not only undermines the constitutional principle of primacy, but is also highly likely to excessively infringe on the people’s basic rights in the process. There are significant concerns that fairness and neutrality will be undermined in the process of appointing the 11 members who make up the committee.
The Itaewon disaster left great scars on the bereaved families, victims, and our society as a whole. However, the pain caused by the disaster cannot be used as a means to justify political strife or the possibility of unconstitutionality.
As a government with an obligation to protect constitutional values, we have no choice but to carefully consider whether this special bill should be promulgated as is.
If a special law is enacted that can truly heal the wounds of bereaved families, victims, and our society and contribute to preventing recurrence, the government will also actively accept it. To this end, we request that the ruling and opposition parties once again fully discuss the problematic provisions of the special bill.
Immediately after the Itaewon disaster, the government promised to actively utilize available policy resources to alleviate the pain of the victims and prevent similar tragedies from recurring. The government will continue to keep this promise with all its might. We will remember the unfortunate sacrifice, heal the wounds of our society, and make unwavering efforts to move forward together.
The government will listen to the requests of bereaved families and victims, consider together what measures can truly help, and seek solutions. We will expand financial and psychological support so that the bereaved families and victims can quickly return to their daily lives, while also actively promoting the creation of a space where the unfortunate sacrifices can be honored and fully commemorated.
More specifically, we will quickly establish a ‘Support Committee for Victims of the October 29 Disaster’ and quickly prepare a substantial support plan.
Once again, we pray for the peace of those who sacrificed their lives. We offer our deepest condolences to the bereaved families who lost their precious family members and to the victims who are still suffering from that time.
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