[imText1]It has been revealed that the North Korean Human Rights Law is among twenty-two bills and legislative items that are scheduled to be decided on at the upcoming extra session of the National Assembly in August. However, it is still too early to determine whether the staunch defiance of the Democratic Party, which strongly opposes the law, will be enough to prevent the bill’s passing. As when the bill was first raised in public and subsequently lost momentum, there appears to be a high probability that it will be held up by disagreement over a host of other contentious issues.
The Legislative and Judiciary Committee (LJC) of the National Assembly is currently in its fifteenth month of deliberation over the North Korean Human Rights Law. At the extra session of the National Assembly on the 28th of June, the bill was brought before the LJC for the first time in fourteen months, although the session finished without a vote in just ten minutes, with the two parties merely confirming their stance on the issue. This has led some observers to question whether the GNP has the will power to get this particular bill through the Assembly at all. On Monday, The Daily NK went to the Yeouido office of Shin Ji Ho, a GNP member of the Assembly and LJC who has been lobbying for the North Korea Human Rights Law, to ask him about the chances that the law would be passed during the extra session in August.
Shin admitted that there are varying levels of support for the bill within his party, saying, “While there are many people who support this bill very proactively, there are also some who are not quite as keen.”
Speaking on the agreement between party floor leaders over the issue of the debate on the North Korea Human Rights Law and North Korean Livelihoods and Human Rights Law, which was suggested by the Democratic Party at the June extra session of the National Assembly, Shin pointed out that, “Hwang Woo Yeo (the floor leader of the GNP) should not have consented to the terms of the agreement,” describing his own party as having been “set up by the Democratic Party.”
When asked if the prospects of the bill passing were very low, he said, “You could see it that way at the moment. I think we need to pass the law in August, even if we have to exercise the authority of the Chairman of the National Assembly to bring the bill before the Assembly without a committee vote. I think that, realistically, it is possible as long as the (newly reshuffled) party leadership has the will to do it.”
Shin also spoke about the increasing calls for the “May 24 Measure” to be revoked and for changes in North Korea policy, saying, “I think those people are making suggestions without fully understanding the priorities of our North Korea policy.”
“National security is the number one priority in our policy toward North Korea, not the reactivation of cooperative exchange,” he stressed.
Shin also dismissed the suggestion made by the Democratic Party and other opposition parties that the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics be used to restart North-South cooperation, calling it an “unrealistic idea.” He also said it was “an insult, not just to the people of Gangwon Province, but to everyone who toiled to win the Winter Olympics bid.”
Lastly, concerning the Democratic Party’s attempts to cover up the Democratic Labour Party’s pro-North leanings in order to win next year’s presidential and general elections, Shin stated that, “Whether a party is colluding with the North is the most important issue in South Korean politics right now.”
He added, “The DP’s attempts to prevent the GNP from gaining power by combining forces with the DLP, without considering that party’s pro-North leanings, will ultimately result in the DP being consumed by the DLP.”
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