Ruling party lawmaker files National Assembly Act revision to curb filibuster abuse, speed up legislation

The ruling party is pushing to revise the National Assembly Act to create a more productive legislature — including restricting filibusters on bills passed by consensus in standing committees or the Legislation and Judiciary Committee.

Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Nam In-soon — who also serves as National Assembly vice speaker and sits on the Health and Welfare Committee, representing Songpa-gu B in Seoul — on Monday filed a partial revision to the National Assembly Act. The bill aims to prevent delays in processing bipartisan agreements, accelerate the review of livelihood legislation and improve the predictability of Assembly operations.

According to Nam and political sources, the current legislative process has long drawn criticism: bills that clear their relevant standing committees through bipartisan agreement can still languish for extended periods in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee or at plenary sessions, and livelihood bills jointly sponsored by ruling and opposition lawmakers are frequently pushed aside by political disputes rather than receiving timely review.

The filibuster system was introduced to protect minority opinions and check unilateral decision-making by the majority. Critics have argued the mechanism needs reform after it was repeatedly invoked on political grounds even against bills that both parties had agreed to pass.

The proposed revision would require standing committees to review bills jointly sponsored by lawmakers from different parliamentary groups within 30 days of referral for partial amendments, and within 45 days for new legislation or comprehensive rewrites. It would also require plenary session agendas to be drawn up and published at least 24 hours before a session opens, and would mandate that bills passed by consensus among the Legislation and Judiciary Committee chair and the floor leaders of each parliamentary group be placed on the plenary agenda once 45 days have elapsed — measures designed to improve scheduling predictability and legislative efficiency.

The revision would further bar filibuster requests on bills passed by consensus of the committee chair and parliamentary group floor leaders in a standing committee or the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, as well as on bills sponsored or endorsed by a majority of lawmakers from each parliamentary group — preventing already-agreed measures from being stalled again by political confrontation.

"The National Assembly has a duty to swiftly handle livelihood legislation that directly affects people's lives, yet bills painstakingly agreed upon by the ruling and opposition parties have repeatedly been left pending in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee or at plenary sessions, or delayed by filibusters," Nam said. "We need to institutionally support a culture of predictable Assembly operations where agreed-upon bills are processed without delay." She added: "I hope this revision will serve as an institutional foundation that prioritizes cooperation over political strife and swift legislation over delay — and becomes a turning point in building a 'working National Assembly' that citizens can feel."