Ruling, Opposition Parties Quarrel over Nuclear Power Policy

Chairman Min Byung-doo of the National Assembly National Policy Committee.

Chairman Noh Woong-rae of the National Assembly Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee.

Ruling and opposition parties clashed over the government’s policy of weaning the nation off nuclear power during the National Assembly Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee’s interpellation of public entities, including Korea Electric Power Corp. on Oct. 16.

The ruling Minju Party of Korea (MPK) supported the government’s policy on energy paradigm shift, saying that the anti-nuclear power policy is a global trend. The opposition Korea Party lashed out at the government’s anti-nuclear policy,saying that it forced a lucrative KEPCO to turn around to losses.

Rep. Wee Sung-gon of the MPK said, “We’ve learned a lesson on the disaster of the sinking of the ferry Sewol that public safety is the foremost thing.” Dangers of nuclear power have forced the government to make an energy paradigm shift, and currently, new and renewable energies are a global trend, he added.

Chairperson In Jae-keun of the National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee.

Chairman Ahn Min-suk of the National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee.

Rep. Park Beom-gae of the ruling party maintained that opposition party lawmakers speak about the president of the energy industry while the MKP utters the future of the ministry. Something to eat at ease right now may be going to get awry, he alleged. Rep. Park said Korea’s portion of new and renewable resources in power generation ranked in lowest levels among OECD countries while countries around the globe concentrated 70 percent of their investments to new and renewable energies, and power generation unit prices tends to decline on the back of an increase in new and renewable energy power generation, he added.

On the contrary, Rep. Chung Yoo-seop of the Liberty Korea Party said the incumbent government is trying to turn Korea into a second- and third-class country by preventing peaceful uses of nuclear power and collapsing the ecosystem of the nuclear power industry, and he called it as a national self-inflicting behavior and a betraying activity.

Rep. Chung Woo-taek of the Liberty Korea Party said KEPCO is projected to log 448.1 billion won in net losses this year due to a rise in power purchasing costs. The setback was attributable to the operation of thermal power plants instead of the cheaper operation of nuclear power plants.

Rep. Cho Bae-suk of the Party for Democracy and Peace (PDP) criticized that KEPCO, which was on a roll as a global company two years ago has degenerated into a company which chalked up 2.014 trillion won in operating losses in the first half of 2018.

In the meantime, both sides on the aisle also locked horns over an opposition party member’s unauthorized leaking of fiscal information and government’s special hiring of aides of ruling party lawmakers on the same day.

Chairman Hong Il-pyo of the National Assembly Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee.

Chairman Lee Myoung-su of the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee.

Chairman Kim Hac-yong of the National Assembly Environment, Employment and Labor Committee.

A parliamentary audit of Korea Public Finance Information Service was disrupted as ruling and opposition party members clashed over the ruling party side’s call for Rep. Shim Jae-chul of the Liberty Korea Party’s resignation as a member of the National Assembly Planning and Finance Committee over his unauthorized releasing of the government’s fiscal information, including controversial records on presidential aides’ charging.

Government agencies’ employing of aides of ruling party lawmakers emerged as a top issue during the National Assembly Policy Committee’s audit of the government.

Members from the opposition Liberty Korea Party claimed that newly installed positions of policy councilors with government agencies filled with aides of ruling party lawmakers amounted to special favors, but ruling counterparts justified it, saying that they have been recognized for their expertise capabilities.

Lawmakers with the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee carried out the committee’s audit of Chungcheongbuk-do provincial government at the provincial government building on Oct. 16. They raised issues such as a project to transform the Chungbuk Railway Line into a KTX one and a controversy over the creation of the KTX Sejong Station.

Chairman Ahn Gyu-baek of the National Assembly National Defense Committee.

Chairperson Park Soon-ja of the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee

Minister Lee Gae-ho of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) told the National Assembly his ministry plans to push ahead with a vision and policies on the agriculture, rural village and food industry looking forward a decade 10 years from now. He made the remarks at the National Assembly Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs’ audit of the ministry on Oct. 10.

Lawmakers at the National Assembly Health and Welfare committee raised questions about “Moon Jae-in care” and tremendous fiscal allocation during the committee’s audit into the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) and Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service at the NHIS headquarters in Wonju on Oct. 19. Moon Jae-in care refers to the 30.5 trillion won plan to have the state-run National Health Insurance cover 70 percent of the cost of medical treatment for all Koreans, including costly treatments such as ultrasound and MRI.

Ruling and opposition party lawmakers at the National Assembly Environment, Employment and Labor Affairs Committee took issue with the alleged malpractices surrounding the changing of non-regular employees with Seoul Metro into regular workers as well as bad labor conditions of film festival staffs and golf caddies during the committee’s audit of regional labor administrations on Oct. 19.