Sept. 28 Legislative Report: Rep. Son Hui-su Serves on Both the Budget Committee and the Education Committee

Rep. Son Hui-su of the Rebuilding Korea Party is broadening the scope of her parliamentary oversight by serving simultaneously on the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts and the Education Committee.

What Holding Seats on Both Committees Means

According to National Assembly information disclosed through the Public Data Portal, Rep. Son is active in the 22nd National Assembly as a member of both the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts and the Education Committee. The Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, commonly known as the Budget Committee, is a core standing body of the Assembly that reviews the government's annual budget bill and final accounts. Serving on the Education Committee as well carries the advantage of allowing her to trace, in a single continuum, how much public money is spent where, and whether education budgets in particular are being properly executed.

Other members of the same Rebuilding Korea Party — Mo Su-tan, Han Tae-seon, Chae Byung-ho, Lee Jin-kyung, Kim Seung-man, and Jeon Hyun-sook — also serve on both committees. The number of its members assigned to the Education and Budget Committees is substantial relative to the party's negotiating-group size. This is interpreted as a strategy by a minor party to secure both budget review power and policy deliberation authority simultaneously with its relatively limited seats. Since the Budget Committee's work is concentrated in the fall ahead of the plenary session each year, if its schedule overlaps with the Education Committee's bill reviews, an individual lawmaker's review capacity translates directly into the quality of legislation.

Linking Education Issues and Legislation

Rebuilding Korea Party members on the Education Committee have focused on issues such as closing educational gaps, student rights, and responses to violations of teachers' authority. Rep. Han Tae-seon has addressed agendas related to narrowing educational disparities across regions and social classes, and Rep. Lee Jin-kyung is confirmed to have participated in audits and policy discussions on strengthening responses to violations of teachers' authority. Rep. Son is also expected to take part in these issues within the same committee.

The point to watch is the link between budget review and legislation. Closing educational gaps or guaranteeing student rights does not end with legislation; it becomes reality through budget allocation. Policies such as after-school programs, support for rural schools, and safeguards for teachers' authority only take effect when the relevant budgets are reflected in the Budget Committee. A lawmaker serving on both committees effectively holds policy design through budget calculation in one hand, which can substantially amplify the real influence a minor-party lawmaker wields.

Variables in Committee Work Amid the Political Calendar

The weight of committee activity grows even heavier during the regular Assembly session's audit season. The National Assembly's Strategy and Finance Committee recently drew attention over corporate taxation, selecting as audit witnesses Woo Brothers CEO Kim Beom-seok, who runs Baedal Minjok, and the head of Google Korea, while the Legislation and Judiciary Committee saw members walk out amid ruling-opposition conflict over the selection of Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-de as a witness. In an environment of intensifying political friction across committees, members of the Budget and Education Committees will be judged on how well they can handle substantive agendas — budgets and education — rather than political battles.

Party-government legislative moves are also bound to affect Budget Committee reviews. The Democratic Party and the government have announced they will push a legal amendment allowing registration cancellation and business suspensions for repeat collusion offenders. Regulatory-strengthening bills typically entail execution budgets and staffing, so as a Budget Committee member, Rep. Son will be in a position to examine the budgetary ripple effects of such new regulations.

Focus Going Forward

Two things bear watching. The first is how education-sector items are handled in the review of the 2027 budget bill. Whether the requests of ruling and opposition members on the Education Committee are actually reflected in Budget Committee deliberations will gauge the effectiveness of the dual-committee structure. The other is whether Rep. Son puts her name on education-related bills. Her activity so far is centered on committee participation, so whether this leads to legislative achievements through primary or co-sponsorship will be the benchmark for evaluating her leadership. Money in a budget is like flowing water: depending on where it is channeled, it can wither a hillside or fill a valley. It remains to be seen where the gaze of a lawmaker peering down two waterways at once will turn.