Acting president Han exercises veto power on six DP bills

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Acting president Han exercises veto power on six DP bills

Published: 19 Dec. 2024, 17:57

LEE SOO-JUNG
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Han Duck-soo, acting president and prime minister, center, knocks a gavel to convene a Cabinet meeting at the government complex in central Seoul on Dec. 19. Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok, left, and Education Minister Lee Ju-ho are also seen. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Han Duck-soo, prime minister and acting president, on Thursday, vetoed six contentious bills railroaded by the opposition Democratic Party (DP), marking the second veto exercise by an acting president in Korean history.

Han stated during a Cabinet meeting held at the government complex in central Seoul earlier in the day that the move was a “responsible decision prioritizing constitutional values and the nation’s future.”

Despite the DP’s warning that it could impeach Han in case he wields presidential veto power as the acting leader, his refusal to approve the bills appeared to align with President Yoon Suk Yeol's stance.

Han said he is “heavyhearted to demand the parliament to reconsider the six bills in a critical situation where cooperation between both ruling and opposition parties and the government is most necessary.”

The acting president’s veto will force the National Assembly to once again conduct a vote on the contentious bills, without revision. If more than half of lawmakers participate in the vote with over two-thirds of sitting lawmakers voice support for the bills, they will become law — regardless of Han’s veto. Otherwise, the amendments would be killed.

Four of the six bills pertain to agricultural laws — including the Grain Management Act. Last year, President Yoon vetoed amendments to the Grain Management Act, which attempted to oblige the government to purchase excess or unsold rice. The remaining two bills pertained to National Assembly governing procedures.

Han said the amendment to the Grain Management Act would worsen the oversupply of rice and depreciate the market value, pointing out it would result in a future financial burden on the government’s spending.

Regarding revisions to the Act on Testimony and Appraisal before the National Assembly, which prohibits behaviors of not submitting documents or attending parliamentary hearings for privacy or business confidentiality, Han said the amendments have a possibility of “violating Koreans’ right to liberty.”

Han also noted he had “contemplated multiple times” and “unbiasedly listened to the voices of the public, businesses and relevant ministries who would be affected by the bills.”

Han is also due to decide on two other special counsel probe bills against President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law imposition and stock manipulation scandal related to first lady Kim Keon Hee. The two bills, drafted and introduced by the DP, were passed during a plenary session on Dec. 12.

DP floor leader Park Chan-dae warned that “Han will face consequences if he abuses his authority by using his veto power and ignoring public sentiment.” He added that Han should “comply with the people’s will instead of a leader of insurrection,” seemingly referring to Yoon.

Besides Han, then Prime Minister Goh Kun was the first acting president to wield veto power against two bills — revisions to the Amnesty Act and to compensate victims of a massacre in South Gyeongsang in 1951 — when late President Roh Moo-hyun was impeached by the parliament in 2004. Han served as minister for the Office for Government Policy Coordination in Goh's office.

Han Duck-soo, prime minister and acting president, holds a phone talk with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the government complex in Jongno District, central Seoul on Dec.19. [PRIME MINISTER'S SECRETARIAT OF OFFICE FOR GOVERNMENT POLICY COORDINATION]

On the same day, Han held a phone call with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and promised to continue bilateral cooperation to maintain Seoul-Tokyo relations in a stable manner.

Han’s communication with Ishiba appeared to be an effort to mitigate diplomatic uncertainties arising from Korea’s domestic political turmoil. Yoon restored “shuttle diplomacy” with ex-Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida last year.

Facing the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Seoul and Tokyo next year, Han and Ishiba promised to maintain essential discussions for stable bilateral relations. Both leaders also mutually agreed on the idea of continuing close trilateral cooperation between South Korea, the United States and Japan in a situation where North Korea’s nuclear threat and its military alignment with Russia are intensifying.

In the afternoon, Han was briefed by National Security Adviser Shin Won-sik in a closed-door meeting at the government complex.

Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, U.S. President Joe Biden, center, and then-Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, take a commemorative photo ahead of their trilateral summit at Camp David near Thurmont, Maryland, on Aug. 18, 2023. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

BY LEE SOO-JUNG [[email protected]]