August 19 Legislative Report: Stray PPP Votes Persist, Differences Emerge over Farmland Bill

Legislative Flow of the 22nd National Assembly Amid Plenary Vote Defections

In June and July 2026, during plenary sessions of the National Assembly, there has been a succession of cases where People Power Party (PPP) lawmakers broke from the party line to cast opposing votes on individual bills. On the Public Health Management Act partial revision, processed on July 23, out of 45 PPP lawmakers, 38 voted in favor and 7 against. The seven lawmakers counted as voting against were Kim Hee-jung, Park Dae-chul, Park Su-young, Seo Ji-young, Seo Il-joon, Park Su-min, and Kwak Kyu-taek.

Such defections were not limited to a single instance. The partial revision bill (alternative) on the Korea Rural Community Corporation and Agricultural Land Management Fund Act, passed by the plenary session on June 18, also revealed internal disagreement within the PPP, with 64 in favor and 10 opposed. Yoon Han-hong, Park Dae-chul, Kim Do-eup, Kang Min-kook, Kang Seon-young, Yu Sang-beom, Kim Jang-kyum, and Seong Il-jong stood in opposition. Similarly, the partial revision of the Framework Act on Resource Saving and Recycling Promotion, processed the same day, was split with 66 in favor and 8 opposed. Yu Sang-beom, Kim Mi-ae, Shin Dong-wook, Kim Eun-hye, Park Su-young, Kim Seung-su, Lee Chul-kyu, and Kang Seung-gyu cast opposing votes.

Looking at these three cases together, it appears that lawmakers Park Dae-chul, Park Su-young, and Yu Sang-beom repeatedly defected in various votes. This suggests that for bills closely related to daily life—where regional issues and industrial interests are intertwined—strong party-level discipline may not be functioning. This interpretation is supported by the fact that the revision to the Rural Community Corporation Act dealt with farmland management and the interests of local farmers, while the recycling promotion revision directly affected the waste disposal industry and local government administration.

Independent Counsel Phase and Intersection of Ruling and Opposition Political Schedules

Apart from legislative activities, political schedules are also acting as variables in National Assembly operations. In September 2024, during a plenary session, Democratic Party lawmaker Jun Hae-cheol participated in a written Q&A regarding the special counsel bill for First Lady Kim Gun-hee, requested by the opposition, expressing his stance on uncovering the truth. Additionally, during the incident where Open Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Tae-kyu occupied the rostrum of the plenary hall, he emphasized communication-centered Assembly operations, stating, "Persuading the other side is politics."

Recently, President Lee Jae-myeong appointed Lee Tae-han, a non-standing member of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, as the special prosecutor for the National Election Commission to investigate allegations of infringing on citizens' suffrage, including the ballot shortage during the 9th simultaneous local elections. Depending on whether this prosecutor-turned-special counsel proceeds with the investigation, discussions on legislation related to election systems may resurface as a National Assembly agenda.

Public Safety, Education, and Legislative Trends Centered on Committees

Activities by standing committee are also notable. Lawmaker Jun Hae-cheol is focusing on public sector safety management legislation, such as bills on disaster prevention in public facility management, during the 22nd Assembly, and is active in the Education Committee and the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts. According to National Assembly public data, PPP lawmaker Cha Hwa-yeol is also a member of the Education Committee and the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts. Reform Party lawmaker Yoo Min-ho, serving as the secretary of the Education Committee, is leading committee operations and reviewing education bills, and has represented a special bill to secure basic education funding.

This configuration places all three lawmakers on the Education Committee, and all three on the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts. This demonstrates that, regardless of party lines, educational finance and budget review are emerging as legislative areas capable of bipartisan cooperation. Yoo Min-ho's special bill on basic education financing aims to legally guarantee separate revenue sources in addition to the local education grant, and substantive discussions are expected to proceed during next year's budget review phase.

The government's legislative schedule is also picking up speed. The Ministry of Employment and Labor has announced a "legislation first, ratification later" policy, aiming to enact the "Basic Act on Working People" by the end of the year to guarantee fair compensation and rest rights for platform workers, such as delivery riders and couriers, ahead of the ratification of the Platform Workers Convention adopted by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in June. While the labor circle demands immediate ratification, the management circle is concerned about increased labor costs, suggesting that adjustments will be inevitable during the subcommittee passage process in the Assembly.

Significance of Stray Votes and Future Outlook

Two interpretations are possible regarding the background of repeated intra-party vote defections. First, bills like the Public Health Management Act, Rural Community Corporation Act, and Recycling Promotion Act involve regulatory easing or tightening directly felt by the public, suggesting that the voices of constituency farmers, small business owners, and the environmental industry may have been reflected in individual lawmakers' votes. Second, it is noted that the binding power of the party line may have weakened for lawmakers following the leadership's restructuring of constituency party organizations after depriving candidates of nominations. Although the scale of 7 to 10 opposing votes did not affect the passage of the bills themselves, if the scope of defections expands in controversial bills in the future, it could lead to an assessment of failure in managing party discipline.

The revised Criminal Procedure Act, implemented on October 2, is also key to follow-up legislative measures. Former Justice Minister Jeong Seong-ho, who resigned, stated, "There is much to do, such as correcting the shortcomings of the Criminal Procedure Act in the National Assembly," so it is expected that follow-up legislation to supplement institutional shortcomings revealed after implementation will be promoted centered on the Assembly Judiciary Committee.

In summary, the 22nd National Assembly exhibits a dual structure: showing a high inter-party agreement rate on livelihood-related bills, while maintaining a confrontational stance on high-profile political issues such as special counsel and constitutional revision-level matters. If the Education Finance Act, the Basic Act on Working People, and disaster prevention bills are processed within the year, they are expected to serve as a yardstick for gauging the substantive legislative achievements of the 22nd National Assembly.