DPK moves to hold Welfare Committee plenary session unilaterally

Plenary session to be held on the 26th to receive pending issue reports on medical school enrollment expansion and the regional physician program

Impact from the People Power Party’s filibuster at the plenary session and the standing committee boycott

Possibility of reviewing bills under Subcommittee 1 during the plenary session

Subcommittee 2 to proceed as planned on the 27th, led solely by the ruling party

The Democratic Party of Korea has decided to convene a plenary session of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee on the 26th, solely with its own members, to receive a report from the Ministry of Health and Welfare on current issues, including medical school enrollment expansion and regional, essential, and public healthcare policies.

This move comes in response to the main opposition party, the People Power Party, conducting a filibuster (unlimited debate) and deciding to boycott all standing committee proceedings, citing the Democratic Party's unilateral handling of the plenary session agenda.

Notably, some Democratic Party members of the committee have also raised the need to review and pass bills assigned to the first Subcommittee of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee during the plenary session.

However, such a move is expected to trigger significant friction with the People Power Party over future standing committee operations and bill deliberations.

According to a Democratic Party official on the 25th, the Health and Welfare Committee (Chair Jumin Park) has tentatively decided to hold a plenary session on the afternoon of the 26th. During the session, the Ministry of Health and Welfare will present reports on key pending issues, including medical school quota expansion, emergency medical care, and the regional physician initiative, and adopt the plan for a public hearing on the Patient Basic Act bill.

The second Subcommittee of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee will convene as scheduled at 10 a.m. on the 27th.

This decision to proceed with the Welfare Committee plenary session and the second Subcommittee of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee's meeting was made solely by the Democratic Party, without involvement from the People Power Party.

It is reported that the decision to hold the plenary session solely by the Democratic Party came after the first  Subcommittee of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee meeting, originally scheduled for the 26th, could not be held due to a boycott by the People Power Party.

A key point of attention is whether the Democratic Party will attempt to deliberate and pass bills assigned to the first  Subcommittee of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee during the plenary session.

This necessity arose because some ruling party welfare committee members have strongly criticized the fact that the subcommittee has not convened for several months and argued that it may now be necessary to process pending legislation at the plenary level.

The problem is that if the Democratic Party reviews and votes on bills under the jurisdiction of the first subcommittee at the plenary session without the opposition parties, including the People Power Party, the Welfare Committee could face disruptions in its normal operations due to clashes between the ruling and opposition parties.

A Democratic Party welfare committee official hinted, “Due to the opposition party's lack of cooperation, bill subcommittee meetings failed to take place in December and January, and there is now a risk that February will follow the same pattern. There are strong voices from some lawmakers stating the necessity to review past livelihood-related bills during the plenary session.”