Nov. 13 Legislative Report: Rebuilding Korea Party Vows to Complete Prosecution Reform
Completing Prosecution Reform: The Party's Reason for Being in the Assembly
The Rebuilding Korea Party's goal in the National Assembly is to complete prosecution reform. The party's founding spirit is rooted in securing the political neutrality of prosecutorial investigations, and in the 22nd National Assembly its legislative agenda continues to revolve around prosecution and judicial reform. Members including Rep. Park Jun-woo are carrying out their parliamentary activities with a focus on enacting the reform legislation that defines the party's core political mission.
Rep. Kim Yang-ho has also been confirmed to have sponsored bills related to prosecution reform. Since winning 12 seats and gaining representation in the 2024 general election, the party has consistently made prosecution reform its top priority. Given that the party's legislative blueprint is premised on separating investigative and prosecutorial powers to curb the prosecution's monopolistic authority, the introduction and review of related bills are expected to remain the centerpiece of its legislative activity going forward.
The Strategy Behind Dual Roles on the Education and Budget Committees
What stands out is how the party's lawmakers are assigned to committees. According to publicly available National Assembly information, Reps. Park Jun-woo, Song Yong-seop, Bae Yeon-su, Ahn Ik-sung, Kim Jeong-yeol and Lee Yun-jae all serve on both the Education Committee and the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts. Rather than concentrating its small 12-seat delegation in a single standing committee, the party has simultaneously secured a foothold in education and budget policy.
On the Education Committee, its activity centers on reviewing bills related to protecting human rights in schools and auditing the Ministry of Education. On the Budget and Accounts Committee, the core agenda is reviewing the government's budget bill. Rep. Bae Yeon-su is known to have emphasized people-centered bill review while participating in budget deliberations. When a minor party highlights issues during the budget process, it can use them as leverage in negotiations with the negotiating blocs, making the party's committee placement read as a calculated strategy.
The Legacy of the Impeachment Crisis and the Future Response Fund Act
Floor chief deputy leader Kim Jeong-yeol's track record illustrates the party's legislative trajectory. He voted in favor of the impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk Yeol at the National Assembly plenary session in December 2024 and defended the party's position during the Constitutional Court's impeachment trial in 2025. He also took part in re-introducing the bill on a special prosecutor for the "Kim Keon-hee luxury handbag case" in 2024. Legislative efforts to introduce a special prosecutor system for matters the prosecution cannot investigate on its own tie directly into the party's prosecution reform line.
The party's grip on budgetary control also extends to fund management. The Rebuilding Korea Party recently introduced the "Better Future Response Fund Act," which strengthens the National Assembly's oversight of the government's proposed Future Response Fund. The rationale is that operating a large-scale fund outside legislative scrutiny could undermine fiscal democracy. Combined with the fact that multiple members of the Budget and Accounts Committee joined the bill's sponsorship, fund transparency legislation is likely to stand alongside prosecution reform as the party's two signature legislative assets.
Challenges and Outlook
The structural constraints are clear. Without negotiating-bloc status, passing bills on its own is virtually impossible. The political landscape is also showing moments of ruling-opposition conflict and intra-party defections. At a recent plenary session, 16 members of the Democratic Party of Korea broke with party lines to vote against a partial amendment to the Special Account Act on Rural Development, while 40 People Power Party members also voted against it, leaving only four in favor. Defections of 10 and 3 votes were also seen on the alternative emergency medical services bill and the broadcasting act revision. The more easily party discipline crumbles, the greater the value of a minor party's swing votes.
Ultimately, the Rebuilding Korea Party's options boil down to two: accelerating reform legislation ahead of the presidential election to consolidate its support base, or building up tangible achievements through budget review and fund oversight legislation. Assigning all of its members to the Education and Budget committees signals an intent to pursue both paths in parallel. As long as the cause of completing prosecution reform depends on the pace of individual bills' passage, the party's influence in the Assembly will hinge on the terms of its cooperation with the majority party.
