PARLIAMENTARY PLENARY SESSION ENDS

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An extraordinary parliamentary plenary session came to an close, automatically ending an opposition filibuster to prevent the passage of one of several controversial reform bills aimed at curtailing the prosecution’s investigative powers. A revision to the Prosecutors’ Office Act will be put to a vote on Saturday. The ruling Democratic Party which holds majority in parliament intends to conclude passing related legislation resorting to this manner by May 3.

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A filibuster staged by the main opposition party to prevent a disputed prosecution reform bill ended at Thursday midnight. The unlimited debate was automatically halted due to the closure of April’s extra parliamentary session. The filibuster which started at around 5 pm Wednesday saw four ruling and opposition lawmakers take to the floor for nearly 7 hours.

[Soundbite] Kim Woong(People Power Party) : "Is not allowing investigations into crimes misusing public office the way to modernize the prosecution service? How is copying the Chinese security policy system an advancement?"

[Soundbite] Kim Jong-min(Democratic Party) : "The essence of this issue is not complicated and boils down to one thing. All investigations must be democratically regulated. Unregulated investigations must go."

A revision to the Prosecutors’ Office Act will be automatically put to a vote during Saturday’s plenary session. A passage is expected as the DP holds 171 seats in parliament. More filibuster, concerning another bill, a revision to the Criminal Procedure Act, is expected to take place immediately after that. The ruling bloc seeks to end that filibuster as well by setting a one-day period for Saturday’s session. It then plans to convene another extraordinary meeting on May 3rd to pass the bill on criminal procedure law. The passage of both bills in the plenary session will mark the completion of the legislative initiative to reduce the prosecution’s investigative powers. Once the bills are endorsed by the Cabinet, they will then be promulgated. The main opposition People Power Party is pressing President Moon Jae-in to exercise his veto power.