October 22 Legislative Report: Rebuilding Korea Party Lawmakers Hold Seats on Both Education and Budget Committees

Kim Kyung-hoon, a lawmaker of the Rebuilding Korea Party, has been assigned to both the Education Committee and the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts of the 22nd National Assembly, expanding his influence across both education legislation and budget deliberations.

According to the National Assembly's official bill and member information system (Open Assembly Information), Kim Kyung-hoon has been appointed a member of the Education Committee while also serving on the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts. Other members of the same party — Lee Yeon-jae, Yoon Jin-sik, Kang Jung-moon, Nam Soo-bin, Kan Tae-kyung, Lee Seung-yoon, Choi Jong-geon, Cho Myung-hwan, and Min Kyung-won — also hold concurrent seats on both committees. The Rebuilding Korea Party has effectively concentrated its budget and education policy oversight manpower relative to its size as a negotiating body.

The Significance of Dual Placement on the Education and Budget Committees

The Education Committee is a standing committee that reviews bills related to early childhood, primary, secondary, and higher education. The Special Committee on Budget and Accounts reviews the government's budget bill and closing accounts. Holding seats on both committees means members can directly handle not only education-related bills but also the budget allocation process in which education funding is reflected. Whenever issues concerning school or local education finances emerge in next year's education budget, Rebuilding Korea Party lawmakers will have a structure in place to make their voices heard from the voting stage onward.

In particular, Kan Tae-kyung is participating in budget deliberation and account review work on the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, while Cho Myung-hwan is likewise carrying out national budget review duties on the same committee. By Open Assembly Information's count, many Rebuilding Korea Party members are shouldering such dual duties, and the oversight capabilities of these first-term lawmakers from outside the major parties are expected to be put to the test during the regular session's budget review.

Party Discipline Fractures Revealed in Plenary Votes

During the same period, the results of National Assembly plenary votes showed considerable defections from party positions across both ruling and opposition benches. On the partial amendment to the Act on the Special Account for Rural and Fisheries Community Structural Improvement, processed on October 1, the Democratic Party recorded 86 votes in favor and 16 against. Lawmakers including Moon Dae-rim, Park Jung-hyun, Cho Seung-rae, Jung Il-young, Kim Hyun, Kim Young-hwan, Park Ji-won, and Jung Chung-rae voted against. The dissent is interpreted as stemming from regional and fiscal burden concerns despite the party line calling for expanded investment in rural finances.

Defections within the People Power Party were even more pronounced. On the same amendment voted that day, the People Power Party recorded only 4 votes in favor and 40 against — its opposition stance had effectively collapsed. Lee Man-hee, Kim Yong-tae, Kwon Young-se, and Lee Sang-hwi voted in favor. The result shows rural district lawmakers abandoning the party line in favor of their constituents' sentiments.

On the partial amendment to the Emergency Medical Service Act (substitute bill), the People Power Party split 14 in favor and 10 against. Lee Jong-bae, Choi Eun-seok, Yoo Young-ha, Lee Sang-hwi, Park Chung-kwon, Lee So-hee, Park Jung-ha, and Park Soo-young cast votes against. On the substitute bill for the Eco-Friendly Agriculture and Fisheries Promotion Act and the amendment to the Broadcasting Act, Lee Jin-sook, Song Eon-seok, and Han Ki-ho, and Lee Jin-sook, Kim Min-jeon, and Choi Soo-jin respectively voted against the party line. Lee Jin-sook drew attention by defecting on two consecutive bills.

The Spread of Politics Beyond the Negotiating Blocs

For smaller parties like the Rebuilding Korea Party that do not belong to a negotiating bloc, committee activity and voting behavior translate directly into visibility. On the audit stage, Reform Party lawmaker Lee Jun-seok already drew attention on the 15th during the National Assembly's Strategy and Finance Committee audit of the Public Procurement Service, citing the Nara Market's high-priced purchases, pointing to a case where 425 smart power strips totaling 84.15 million won were priced above general retail rates. Such evidence-based oversight is read as an example of a minor party making good use of the weapons secured through seats on the Budget Committee and standing committees.

The Education Committee, on which Kim Kyung-hoon sits, is likely to see disputes over the Local Education Finance Grant and school restructuring flare up in the coming budget review, as conflicts between the government and the education community over the size of the grant have repeatedly occurred. If the party leverages its Budget Committee posts to intervene in arguments over education budget cuts or increases, it could become an opportunity to establish the Rebuilding Korea Party's policy brand.

Outlook: Deliberation Speed and Vote Discipline Are Key

Signs of weakening discipline persist even within the ruling party. Over the Mega Special Zone Act, the Democratic Party took the unusual step of introducing two versions of the bill simultaneously — one including a labor exception to the 52-hour workweek and one excluding it. Floor leader Han Byung-do said on the 20th that "we are submitting two bills, one with the exception and one without," and added that the party is considering establishing a special National Assembly committee with participation from both ruling and opposition parties. This marks a retreat from the party's initially stated goal of passing the bill within the year, the result of labor's backlash.

In this landscape, the moves of Kim Kyung-hoon and other Rebuilding Korea Party members on the Education and Budget Committees are expected to draw attention as a relatively free voting card. Because neither the ruling nor opposition camp holds a stable majority to secure a quorum in plenary sessions on certain bills, the vote discipline of minor parties can act as a swing variable. However, as the rural, emergency medical, and broadcasting act cases show, in an Assembly where defections from party positions have become structural, substantive oversight at the committee level — rather than individual members' judgment — is expected to determine the quality of legislation. Whether activity spanning the Education and Budget Committees leads to legislative and budgetary achievements will be gauged in the upcoming budget review.