Rival parties agree to cooperate on livelihood bills even as partisan rift persists

Korea’s two main parties agreed on Wednesday to work together to pass bills on livelihood issues where there is bipartisan agreement, even as they remain at loggerheads over other controversial legislation.

Rep. Park Sung-joon of the liberal Democratic Party, left, and Rep. Bae June-young of the conservative People Power Party shake hands after they agreed to establish a joint consultative body with the government to discuss livelihood issues during a meeting at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Thursday. [YONHAP]

Korea’s two main parties agreed to work together to pass bills on livelihood issues where there is bipartisan consensus, even as they remain at loggerheads over other controversial legislation.

The agreement struck between Rep. Kim Sang-hoon, the conservative People Power Party’s (PPP) policy chief, and his counterpart Rep. Jin Sung-joon of the liberal Democratic Party (DP) came on Wednesday after the pair reviewed some 50 bills proposed by the DP.

Both lawmakers said after their meeting at the National Assembly that they had identified multiple pieces of legislation that the rival parties could work together to pass, such as a bill to help victims of crime and cut electricity costs for vulnerable groups during the ongoing heat wave.

During a separate meeting, officials from the PPP and DP agreed to establish a consultative body involving the government to discuss and propose solutions to livelihood issues.

The two parties’ tentative agreement to cooperate on less contentious bills came despite profound differences over other issues.

On Thursday, the DP submitted a bill mandating the appointment of a special counsel to investigate allegations that the presidential office and Defense Ministry obstructed the military’s investigation into the death of Marine Cpl. Chae Su-geun, who was killed during a mission to rescue flood victims last year.

The Yoon Suk Yeol administration and PPP have opposed the bill, arguing that a special counsel probe should take place after police and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials conclude their ongoing investigations in the case.

This is the third time that the DP has submitted a bill to establish a special counsel probe to look into the case.

Yoon vetoed similar bills passed by the DP-controlled legislature in May and again in July.

Speaking to reporters at the National Assembly on Tuesday, DP spokesperson Yoon Jong-kun said his party “looks forward to seeing discussions about the special counsel probe bill in any form” within the PPP.

While the PPP has yet to signal it would shift its stance on the issue, party chairman Han Dong-hoon suggested during his leadership run that a special counsel selected by a “third party” could assuage concerns regarding the impartiality of a potential probe.

The DP is also expected to clash with the PPP and the presidential office over the government’s proposal to abolish a new capital gains tax that is due to go into effect next year.

The tax imposes a 20 percent levy on income derived from stocks, bonds, funds and derivatives that exceeds 50 million won ($36,205), with a higher rate of 25 percent applied to gains above 300 million won.

The presidential office said the looming tax would likely prove a burden to retail investors amid increasing volatility in the global financial market.

“If the capital gains tax is implemented under the current circumstances, 14 million individual investors — the majority of whom are middle class — will suffer losses,” the office said.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]