First review of the ‘Administrative Capital Special Act’ by the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Commission… We will discuss intensively on the 11th of next month.

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Noh Seon-woong = On the 28th, the ruling and opposition parties held a bill review subcommittee of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee of the National Assembly and conducted the first review of the 'Administrative Capital Special Act', which defines Sejong City as the administrative capital.

The subcommittee of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee read the entire bill and discussed major issues for about two hours starting at 10 a.m. on this day, including the relocation of major institutions such as the National Assembly and the granting of administrative capital status to Sejong City.

The ruling party held a party-government council prior to the subcommittee meeting, selected the Special Administrative Capital Act as its top priority, and promised to quickly process the bill. Accordingly, the ruling party members argued in the subcommittee that the bill should be passed quickly after reviewing the provisions, as sufficient public discussion and consensus has been formed regarding the relocation of the administrative capital.

On the other hand, opposition party members called for a cautious approach, citing the Constitutional Court's unconstitutional decision in the past regarding the administrative capital project. The purpose is that even if the special law is passed while concerns about the Constitutional Court's past decision to be unconstitutional are not resolved, there is a possibility that it will be judged unconstitutional again in the future in the event of a constitutional appeal, so additional review is necessary.

In relation to this, the National Assembly Expert Committee's Office is known to have pointed out that key issues could be whether it constitutes 'repeated legislation' that re-enacts content similar to a law that has become invalid due to a decision to be unconstitutional in the past, and the possibility of a change in the Constitutional Court's precedent after 20 years.

Accordingly, the ruling and opposition parties decided to hold a meeting again on the morning of the 11th of next month to further discuss the unconstitutionality and legal issues and continue intensive review.