Will the National Assembly Process the US Investment Bill as Planned?
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
Seoul, Feb 21 (NationPress) On Saturday, South Korea's rival political parties affirmed their commitment to continue with the necessary steps to advance the legislation concerning South Korea's investment commitments to the United States, despite the recent court ruling regarding President Donald Trump's extensive tariffs.
According to Rep. Kim Sang-hoon from the opposition People Power Party (PPP), who leads a special committee overseeing the legislation, the ruling does not appear to negate South Korea's investments in the U.S.
"We intend to conduct the hearing as scheduled and evaluate the government's stance" on the ruling, he stated.
Members of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) also indicated their intention to proceed with the legislation as planned, asserting that the agreement with Washington remains in place.
"We do not anticipate any changes to the timetable regarding the special bill on South Korea's investment commitments to the U.S.," said a senior DP official during a conversation with Yonhap News Agency.
"We aim to methodically assess the legislation"
Conversely, the smaller Jinbo Party called for an immediate suspension of all processes related to the investment bill.
Earlier this month, the National Assembly adopted a resolution to establish a parliamentary special committee to expedite legislation concerning South Korea's $350 billion investment pledge to the U.S., following a trade agreement between Seoul and Washington.
The initiative followed President Trump’s threats to escalate tariffs on South Korea from 15% back to 25%, citing delays in Seoul's legislative actions.
The committee convened its first meeting on February 12 but was quickly interrupted due to conflicts between rival parties regarding unrelated judicial reform bills that were approved the day before.
A hearing on the legislation is slated for next Tuesday. The conflicting parties intend to advance the bill during a plenary session on March 5, with the special committee remaining active until March 9.